The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, and sometimes shortened to just Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland Africa and is surrounded by Senegal, except for its western coast on the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia is situated on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the centre of The Gambia and empties into the Atlantic Ocean, and elucidates the long shape of the country. It has an area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi) with a population of 1,857,181 as of the April 2013 census. Banjul is the capital of The Gambia, and it is the country's largest metropolitan area, while the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
Politics of The Gambia takes place within the framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of The Gambia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliaments.
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former military officer, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017, as well as Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council from 1994 to 1996.
The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) is a political party in The Gambia. Founded by army officers who staged 1994 coup, it was the ruling party from 1996 to 2016 under President Yahya Jammeh.
Lamin Kaba Bajo is a former Gambian politician and diplomat who is the current president of the Gambia Football Federation, having been elected in September 2014.
The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance is the main separatist movement in the Casamance region of Senegal, founded in 1982. It was supported by Guinea-Bissau President João Bernardo Vieira until he was overthrown in 1999. It relies mainly on the Jola people. Its armed wing was formed in 1985 and is called Atika.
Presidential elections were held in The Gambia on 1 December 2016. In a surprise result, opposition candidate Adama Barrow defeated long-term incumbent Yahya Jammeh. The election marked the first change of presidency in The Gambia since a military coup in 1994, and the first transfer of power by popular election since independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.
Adama Barrow is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017.
The State Intelligence Services (SIS), formerly the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), is the intelligence agency of the Gambia. It was founded following the 1994 military coup d'état by the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (APRFC), which was led by Yahya Jammeh. Its current head is Ousman Sowe.
A constitutional crisis occurred in Gambia following presidential elections in December 2016, in which challenger Adama Barrow achieved an upset victory over longtime incumbent Yahya Jammeh. It eventually concluded after a military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led to Jammeh’s departure from the country.
The ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia or the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia – initially code-named Operation Restore Democracy – is a military intervention in The Gambia by several member states of the Economic Community of West African States.
Teneng Mba Jaiteh is a Gambian politician who serves as Gambia's ambassador to the European Union as well as 7 of its member states.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2337 was a measure unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 19 January 2017. It expressed support for efforts by ECOWAS to peacefully resolve the 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis, calling on President Yahya Jammeh to step down and allow a peaceful transition to the President-elect, Adama Barrow, as well as supporting the African Union and ECOWAS decisions in recognizing Adama Barrow as the new president. The measure was adopted by a vote of 15 supporting, none opposed, and none abstained.
Masaneh Nyuku Kinteh is a retired Gambian Army officer who served as Chief of the Defence Staff until his removal on 5 March 2020 by President Adama Barrow. He was the Gambian Chief of Mission in Havana, Cuba, from 2012 to 2017, and was previously Chief of the Defence Staff from 2009 to 2012. He was retired with the rank of lieutenant general in 2012, having previously also served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff in 2009, and shifted to the Foreign Service. He was reinstated as the Chief of Defence Staff in 2017 but redeployed him to the Foreign Service in 2020, becoming the ambassador to China.
Sheikh Omar Faye is the Gambian ambassador to Mauritania. Prior to this position, he was Gambian Minister of Defence, as well as a former diplomat who served as the Gambian Ambassador to the United States from 2015 to 2016, and an athlete who represented the Gambia in the 1984 Olympic games.
Ousman Sonko is a former Gambian politician. He served as Interior Minister between 2006 and 2016 under the Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh. During this period he is suspected of taking part in acts of torture, including in detention centers.
The following lists events in the year 2017 in the Gambia.
Momodou Alieu Bah is a former Gambian senior army officer, who served as Yahya Jammeh's last Minister of the Interior. Bah served as Minister of the Interior from 19 September 2016 to 18 January 2017, when he resigned as a result of the constitutional crisis.
The April 2000 Gambian student massacre was the killing of 14 people by Gambian police officers and soldiers on the 10 April 2000 at a student protest in Banjul, the Gambia. The protest had been called following two separate incidents - the beating to death of secondary school student Ebrima Barry by firefighters, and the rape of a 13-year-old girl by a uniformed police officer - and the lack of investigation of both of those incidents. Despite firing live ammunition into the protesters after government buildings had been damaged, no charges have been brought against those involved, and the Yahya Jammeh government suppressed commemoration of the event. Adama Barrow's government has since promised to investigate the shooting.
Yankuba Badjie was Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency under former President Yahya Jammeh from December 2013 to 2016.
Gambian National Army 