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Sierra Leone

Visiting Portuguese explorers named the area Sierra Leone (Lion Mountains) in 1460. The British chose a spot in the area which they purchased from local chiefs in 1787, for resettlement of ex-slaves repartriated from Britain and the United States as well as those rescued from slave ships on the high seas. They named the spot Freetown which today is the capital of Sierra Leone.

Freetwon was administered as a British crown colony beginning from 1808. By 1896 the British had established protectorate status over the hinterland beyond Freetown. In 1954 Sir Milton Margai, a former physician and leader of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), was appointed chief minister. As the country neared independence Margai was named prime minister in 1960.

Britain granted independence to Sierra Leone on April 27, 1961. Margai remained prime minister. At his death in 1964, his half-brother, Albert Margai, succeeded him. In 1967, Siaka Stevens, leader of the All People’s Congress (APC), was elected prime minister. After the election of 1967 there was an army coup against the government. A second coup took place in 1968 restoring Stevens to power. The country became a republic on April 19, 1971 and Stevens became the executive president.