Rebecca Stevens | |
---|---|
First Lady of Sierra Leone | |
In office 21 April 1971 –28 November 1985 | |
Succeeded by | Hannah Momoh |
Personal details | |
Died | Freetown,Sierra Leone |
Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
Political party | All People's Congress (APC) |
Spouse | Siaka Stevens |
Children | 11 |
Residence(s) | State House (official) Freetown,Sierra Leone |
Rebecca Stevens served as First Lady of Sierra Leone from 21 April 1971 to 28 November 1985. [1] She was the wife of Siaka Stevens,the 1st President of Sierra Leone. [1]
Stevens was a quiet,unobtrusive First Lady. [1] She accompanied her husband at public functions but rarely held events of her own. [1]
She traveled with her husband on state visits and around the country. [1] She resided at the family's private residence at 1 King Harman Road at Brooksfield in Freetown. [1]
Sierra Leone,officially the Republic of Sierra Leone,is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia,and the northern half of the nation is surrounded by Guinea. Covering a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi),Sierra Leone has a tropical climate,with diverse environments ranging from savanna to rainforests. The country has a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015 census. Freetown is the capital and largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions,which are 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.
Siaka Probyn Stevens was the leader of Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985,serving as Prime Minister from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was often characterized by patrimonial rule and self-indulgence,consolidating power by means of corruption and exploitation.
Brigadier David Lansana was the first prominent Sierra Leonean in the Sierra Leone Military during the colonial era. After Sierra Leone gained independence,he served as Military Attachéto the United States.
Anna Maria (Horwood) Falconbridge (1769-1835),was the first English woman to give a narrative account of experiences in Africa.
Patricia Kabbah was a Sierra Leonean lawyer who served as First Lady of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 1998. She was the first wife of Sierra Leone's third president,Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential first ladies in the history of Sierra Leone.
Sia Nyama Koroma is Sierra Leonean biochemist and psychiatric nurse. She served as First Lady of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 - 4 April 2018. She is the wife of Ernest Bai Koroma,the 4th President of Sierra Leone.
Paramount Chief Ella Koblo Gulama OBE,GCOR was a Sierra Leonean paramount chief and politician. In 1957,she became the first elected female Member of Parliament in Sierra Leone. She was re-elected in 1962. During the government of Milton Margai,Gulama became Sierra Leone and sub-Saharan Africa's first female Cabinet Minister.
Komeh Gulama Lansana was the wife of Brigadier David Lansana,Force Commander of the Sierra Leone Army until his execution in 1975.
The Dominion of Sierra Leone was a sovereign state with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state between independence on 27 April 1961 and becoming the Republic of Sierra Leone on 19 April 1971.
Alice Rosalyn Koroma was the mother of Sierra Leone's president,Ernest Bai Koroma,and a longtime primary school teacher in Makeni. She was a longtime member of the Wesleyan Church congregation in Makeni,and in the 1960s she was a member of the Makeni city council from the All People's Congress (APC) party. Koroma,whose political career stems back to the 1960s,"was a strong supporter" and "advocate of women's rights". She was very active in the political scene of Sierra Leone and was a former leader of the All People's Congress (APC) Women's Congress in Bombali District in the later half of the 1960s.
Stella Jane Thomas was a Yoruba Nigerian lawyer of Sierra Leone Creole descent. She received a law degree from Oxford University and in 1943 became the first woman magistrate in Nigeria.
Elizabeth II was Queen of Sierra Leone from 1961 to 1971,when Sierra Leone was an independent constitutional monarchy. She was also the monarch of other Commonwealth realms,including the United Kingdom. Her constitutional roles in Sierra Leone were mostly delegated to the governor-general of Sierra Leone.
Constance Cummings-John was a Sierra Leonean educationist and politician. She was the first woman in Africa to join a municipal council and in 1966 became the first woman to serve as mayor of Freetown. She was based in London,England,for the latter part of her life.
Sierra Leone,officially the Republic of Sierra Leone,is a Constitutional Republic in West Africa. Since it was founded in 1792,the women in Sierra Leone have been a major influence in the political and economic development of the nation.
Femi Claudius Cole is a Sierra Leonean politician. In 2016 she founded the Unity Party,making her the first Sierra Leonean woman to form a political party. In 2018,she was the first woman to run for the office of President of Sierra Leone. She is the only woman party leader in Sierra Leone.
The title First Lady of Sierra Leone is held by the female spouse of the president of Sierra Leone. The first lady is a representative of the people of Sierra Leone at home and abroad. The Office of the First Lady is an extension of State House and is responsible for social events and ceremonies at State Lodge. The First Lady’s Office is not established by an act of parliament and cannot receive government funding.
Fatima Maada Bio,known simply as Fatima Bio,is a Sierra Leonean former actress,screenwriter and film producer who is the current First Lady of Sierra Leone,as the wife of President Julius Maada Bio. As an actress,Bio participated in various Nollywood movie projects,as well as other acting projects in the United Kingdom. She hails from Sierra Leone's Kono District,in the southeastern part of the country;however,part of her heritage is Gambian.
Matilda Yayu Lansana Minah is Paramount Chief of the Pujehun District in Sierra Leone. She became chief in 1985 after the death of her father,and was elected to parliament in 2018. She is outspoken on women's rights,agriculture and education.