Милтон Маргай
Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (December 7, 1895 - April 28, 1964) was a Sierra Leonean physician and the first prime minister of Sierra Leone. He was the main architect of the post-colonial constitution of Sierra Leone and guided his nation to independence in 1961.
In 1951 Margai oversaw the drafting of a new constitution which triggered the process of decolonization. In 1953 Sierra Leone was granted local ministerial powers and Margai was made Chief Minister. The new constitution ensured Sierra Leone a parliamentary system within the Commonwealth of Nations and was formally adopted in 1958.
Margai led the Sierra Leone delegation at the constitutional conferences that were held with British Colonial Secretary Iain Macleod in London in 1960. On April 27, 1961, Milton Margai led Sierra Leone to independence from the United Kingdom. The nation held it's first general elections on May 27, 1962 and Margai was elected Sierra Leone's first Prime Minister by a landslide. His party, the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) won majority of seat in parliament.
Over the next two years, as Sierra Leone headed for independence, Margai oversaw the creation of a new constitution for the colony, and upon its adoption in 1958, he became Prime Minister.
Knighted in 1959, he was prime minister at the time of independence on April 27, 1961, and won the ensuing election in 1962. He appointed the youngest Queens Council attorney in the Commonwealth at that time, Berthan Macaulay, to serve as his Attorney General. Margai died in office in Freetown in 1964 and was succeeded as prime minister by his brother Albert Margai.
Today, Sierra Leoneans regard Sir Milton Margai as a man of honesty and high principle, and look back to his time in office as a period of prosperity and social harmony. Sir Milton is the only post-Independence leader of Sierra Leone still universally admired and respected by the people of that country. He was a member of the Evangelical United Brethren Church.
In 1951 Margai oversaw the drafting of a new constitution which triggered the process of decolonization. In 1953 Sierra Leone was granted local ministerial powers and Margai was made Chief Minister. The new constitution ensured Sierra Leone a parliamentary system within the Commonwealth of Nations and was formally adopted in 1958.
Margai led the Sierra Leone delegation at the constitutional conferences that were held with British Colonial Secretary Iain Macleod in London in 1960. On April 27, 1961, Milton Margai led Sierra Leone to independence from the United Kingdom. The nation held it's first general elections on May 27, 1962 and Margai was elected Sierra Leone's first Prime Minister by a landslide. His party, the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) won majority of seat in parliament.
Over the next two years, as Sierra Leone headed for independence, Margai oversaw the creation of a new constitution for the colony, and upon its adoption in 1958, he became Prime Minister.
Knighted in 1959, he was prime minister at the time of independence on April 27, 1961, and won the ensuing election in 1962. He appointed the youngest Queens Council attorney in the Commonwealth at that time, Berthan Macaulay, to serve as his Attorney General. Margai died in office in Freetown in 1964 and was succeeded as prime minister by his brother Albert Margai.
Today, Sierra Leoneans regard Sir Milton Margai as a man of honesty and high principle, and look back to his time in office as a period of prosperity and social harmony. Sir Milton is the only post-Independence leader of Sierra Leone still universally admired and respected by the people of that country. He was a member of the Evangelical United Brethren Church.
