List of heads of state of the Gambia

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This is a list of the heads of state of The Gambia, from the independence of The Gambia in 1965 to the present day.

Contents

From 1965 to 1970 the head of state under the Constitution of 1965 was the queen of the Gambia, Elizabeth II, who was also the queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The monarch was represented in the Gambia by a governor-general. The Gambia became a republic within the Commonwealth under the Constitution of 1970 and the monarch and governor-general were replaced by an executive president.

Monarch (1965–1970)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)		ReignRoyal House Prime minister(s)
Reign startReign endDuration
1 Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio).jpg Queen Elizabeth II
(1926–2022)		18 February 196524 April 19705 years, 65 days Windsor Jawara

Governor-general

The governor-general was the representative of the monarch in the Gambia and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The governor-general was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since the Gambia was granted independence by the Gambia Independence Act 1964, rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous dominion and later promoted to independence as defined by the Statute of Westminster 1931, the governor-general was to be always appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of the Gambia without the involvement of the British government, with the sole exception of John Paul, the former colonial governor, who served as governor-general temporarily until he was replaced by Farimang Mamadi Singateh. In the event of a vacancy the chief justice would have served as the officer administering the government.

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)		Term of officeMonarch Prime minister(s)
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 No image.png Sir John Paul
(1916–2004)		18 February 19659 February 1966356 days Elizabeth II Jawara
2 No image.png Sir Farimang Singateh
(1912–1977)		9 February 196624 April 19704 years, 74 days

Republic (1970–present)

Political parties
   People's Progressive Party (PPP)
   Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC)
   National People's Party (NPP)
Other factions
   Military
   Independent

First Republic (1970–1994)

Under the Constitution of 1970, the first constitution of the Republic of the Gambia, the president replaced the monarch as executive head of state. The president was elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the vice-president served as acting president.

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)		ElectedTerm of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Dawda Jawara (1979).jpg Sir Dawda Jawara
(1924–2019)		 1972
1977
1982
1987
1992 		24 April 197022 July 1994
(Deposed in a coup)		24 years, 89 days PPP

Military rule (1994–1996)

Colonel Yahya Jammeh led a coup d'état which overthrew President Jawara and his government, all political parties and Parliament were dissolved.

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)		Term of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
2 Yahya Jammeh.jpg Colonel Yahya Jammeh
(born 1965)
Chairman of the AFPRC 		22 July 19946 November 19962 years, 107 days Military

Second Republic (1996–present)

Under the current constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, the president is executive head of state. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy, the vice-president will serve as acting president.

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)		ElectedTerm of officePolitical party
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
(2) Yahya Jammeh.jpg Yahya Jammeh
(born 1965)		 1996
2001
2006
2011 		6 November 199619 January 2017 [lower-alpha 1] 20 years, 76 days APRC
3 Adama Barrow - 2018 (39774084330) (cropped).jpg Adama Barrow
(born 1965)		 2016
2021 		19 January 2017 [lower-alpha 2] Incumbent7 years, 128 days Coalition 2016
(until 2019)
NPP

Notes

  1. ↑ Forced to step down amidst a constitutional crisis and the ECOWAS military intervention.
  2. ↑ Presidency was in dispute from 19–21 January 2017.

Timeline since 1970

Adama BarrowYahya JammehDawda JawaraList of heads of state of the Gambia

Standards

See also

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