Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Its land area is 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi). It has a tropical climate and environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. As of the 2015 census, Sierra Leone had a population of 7,092,113. Freetown is both its capital and its largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 16 districts.
Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African peoples at least 2,500 years ago. The Limba were the first tribe known to inhabit Sierra Leone. The dense tropical rainforest partially isolated the region from other West African cultures, and it became a refuge for peoples escaping violence and jihads. Sierra Leone was named by Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who mapped the region in 1462. The Freetown estuary provided a good natural harbour for ships to shelter and replenish drinking water, and gained more international attention as coastal and trans-Atlantic trade supplanted trans-Saharan trade.
The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces are the armed forces of Sierra Leone, responsible for the territorial security of Sierra Leone's borders and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone, within the framework of the 1991 Sierra Leone Constitution and International laws. The armed forces were formed after independence in 1961, on the basis of elements of the former British Royal West African Frontier Force, then present in the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate.
The president of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
Valentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser is a former Sierra Leonean military officer who served as head of state of Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996. He became the world's youngest Head of State in 1992, seizing power three days after his 25th birthday.
Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh, OOR, OBE was a Sierra Leonean politician and military officer who served as the second President of Sierra Leone from November 1985 to 29 April 1992.
Julius Maada Wonie Bio is a Sierra Leonean politician who has served as president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leone from 16 January 1996 to 29 March 1996, in a military junta government known as the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC).
General David Julian Richards, Baron Richards of Herstmonceux, is a retired senior British Army officer and Peer who was formerly the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup in this role on 29 October 2010.
Edward Sam M'bomah is a Sierra Leonean military commander. He is at the rank of Major General and is also the Chief of the Defence Staff of The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. In February 2007, M'boma acted as spokesman for the RSLAF in declaring that no voting booths for the upcoming federal elections will be placed inside the army barracks. Instead, the booths will be placed among other civilians, thus eliminating the chance that military personnel votes can be separated from that of civilians.
Francis Misheck Minah was a Sierra Leonean statesman, lawyer and politician who served as First Vice President of Sierra Leone from 1985 to 1987 under President Siaka Stevens. An ethnic Mende from the Pujehun District, he became a member of the House of Representatives in 1967. He had previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Health, Minister of Trade and Industry and Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
Tom Nyuma was a Sierra Leonean military commander and the chairman of the Kailahun District council. He was elected as chairman of Kailahun District council on July 6, 2008 with 87% of the vote running on the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) ticket.
Komba Sylvester Mansa-Musa Mondeh was a top-ranking officer in the Sierra Leonean army. Mondeh was one of six young soldiers in the Sierra Leonean Army that ousted president Joseph Saidu Momoh led All People's Congress (APC) government on 29 April 1992. He served as the deputy head of state of Sierra Leone in 1996, under Brigadier Julius Maada Bio of the NPRC.
Alfred Paolo Conteh is a retired Major in the Sierra Leone Armed Forces who has been Defense Minister of Sierra Leone since October 2007. He was appointed by President Ernest Bai Koroma and was later confirmed by parliament. Conteh is the nephew of former President Joseph Saidu Momoh.
Major General Alfred Claude Nelson-Williams, GCOR is a retired Major General in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF). Nelson-Williams previously served as Chief of Defense Staff for Sierra Leone from 2008 to 2010.
Bockarie Kortu Stevens is a Sierra Leonean diplomat and the current Sierra Leonean Ambassador to the United States; and also Sierra Leone's permanent representative to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He is the son of Sierra Leone's first president Siaka Stevens.
Colonel Kahota M.S. Dumbuya commonly known as K.M.S. Dumbuya was a senior military officer in the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. K.M.S Dumbua was the late husband of the religious Sierra Leonean evangelist preacher Mammy Dumbuya.
Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh is a Sierra Leonean politician who has been Secretary-General of the All People's Congress political party, the ruling party in Sierra Leone, since 2012. Yansaneh is a close ally and senior advisor to President Ernest Bai Koroma.
The Order of the Rokel is the second order of Sierra Leone, after the Order of the Republic. It may be awarded to recognize Sierra Leoneans who have distinguished themselves by making valuable contributions to the country in the areas of to the public service, arts and sciences, and philanthropy. The award is normally awarded by the President of Sierra Leone.
The Sergeants' Coup was a military coup d'état in Sierra Leone that occurred on 18 April 1968 against Chairman of the National Reformation Council (NRC) and acting Governor-General of Sierra Leone Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith, who declared himself the interim leader the year prior. The coup was led by Brigadier John Amadu Bangura who briefly ruled as head of state before handing power over to Siaka Stevens, who had won the 1967 general election. Despite Bangura's desire to restore democracy by upholding the results of the election, the coup opened the way for the autocratic rule of Stevens, including the 23-year-long period from 1978-1991 where the All People's Congress was the only legal party in Sierra Leone following the 1978 Sierra Leonean constitutional referendum, a sham election where 97% of the population voted in favor of one-party rule. Despite returning Stevens to power, Bangura was later executed for treason.
