Siaka Stevens

Siaka Stevens (extract from an old Leone banknote)

Pronunciation of Siaka Stevens

Siaka Probyn Stevens (born August 24, 1905 in Tolobu , Moyamba , † May 29, 1988 in Freetown ) was Prime Minister in 1967 and from 1968 to 1971 and President of Sierra Leone from 1971 to 1985 .

Origin and family

Stevens came from the south of the country. His father, James Tibin Stevens, a former soldier in the West African Frontier Force and later a shopkeeper, belonged to the Limba people and was a Christian, his mother Miatah, nee. Massaquoi, was a Muslim Vai . Siaka Stevens married Rebecca Stevens (1908–1990) in 1940 , whose Temne / Susu descent, together with the origins of his parents, gave him a high degree of adaptability in ethnic matters, which was an important factor in his political career. They had five daughters and seven sons. Stevens was also involved in a traditional ceremony with the Fula Fatmata Binta Jalloh .

Early years

Stevens joined the police force in 1923 after graduating from Albert Academy in Freetown . From 1931 to 1946 he worked as an administrator on the railway line between the port of Pepel and the iron ore mines of Marampa. In 1943 he was a co-founder of the United Mine Workers Union and was its general secretary until 1958. Member of the Territorial Assembly of the British protectorate it was 1946. 1947 he received a scholarship for the Ruskin College of the University of Oxford .

Politician

After his return from England he went into politics and was a co-founder of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) in 1951 and became a member of the Legislative Council, in which the party always had a majority until the country's independence in 1961. In 1952 he became Minister of Labor and Mining. In 1957 he was elected to the House of Representatives, but immediately lost the seat because of an election challenge. A dispute with the leadership of the SLPP led him to found the People's National Party (PNP) , of which he became general secretary and deputy chairman. In 1959 he took part in the talks on the future independence of Sierra Leone in London . He was the only member of the delegation to refuse to sign the agreement because of the defense pact it contained between the two countries. A second reason was that the Sierra Leone government, with which he had broken, did not want any new elections before independence. The latter robbed him of the opportunity to come to government himself. Upon returning from these talks, he was expelled from his PNP and founded the Elections before Independence Movement (EBIM) , which later became the All People's Congress (APC) .

He took advantage of the alienation of some tribes with the still ruling SLPP and, through an alliance with the Sierra Leone Progressive Independence Mouvement (EBIM), was able to establish his APC in the elections of 1962 - the first after independence in 1961 - as the leading force of the opposition. He was later elected Mayor of Freetown.

While Stevens enjoyed great support among the population, especially after his death, there was talk of a time of “dictatorship” and “abuse of office”. He was considered "gruff", "friendly", "approachable" and a "pragmatic socialist". In addition, Stevens was one of the few heads of state in Africa who voluntarily gave up his power.

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prime minister

After the elections on May 17, 1967, he was there. His APC had won the election and Stevens was slated to be Prime Minister. A few days later a military coup took place and he was first imprisoned and then went into exile .

Another coup meant that he was able to return and on April 26, 1968 resumed the post of prime minister. In September 1970 he declared a state of emergency, another measure was the nationalization of the diamond mines . After the introduction of the republic through a constitutional amendment on April 19, 1971, he became Sierra Leone's first president on April 21.

president

In the 1973 election, his APC got all seats in the House of Representatives because the SLPP boycotted the election. His re-election as President in 1976 by Parliament was therefore a purely formal matter. On June 12, 1978, Stevens' draft of a new constitution was officially approved in a referendum with 97.1% of the vote, making his APC now a unified party in the country.

Domestically, his government was accused of corruption and modest competence in solving economic problems. Several coup attempts and assassinations failed.

In terms of foreign policy, he advocated the movement of the non-aligned states and African unity. From July 1, 1980 he was chairman of the Organization for African Unity for one year . In addition, he was committed to the Mano River Union with Liberia and later also Guinea , whose meaning, like most of these organizations, was rather symbolic.

Stevens resigned on October 28, 1985, and was succeeded as the only candidate by Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh . Stevens a personal fortune of 500 million intended for official end of US dollars have accumulated.

Web links

• Siaka - A Hero of Sierra Leone , side by Stevens grandson (English)
• Biography (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Siaka Probyn Stevens. In: John A. Wiseman: Political Leaders in Black Africa: a Biographical Dictionary of the Major Politicians since Independence. Elgar, Aldershot 1991.
2. ↑ Stevens, Siaka Probyn newruskinarchives.org.uk, accessed September 16, 2019.
3. ↑ Alusine Jalloh: Muslim Fula Business Elites and Politics in Sierra Leone , African Economic History, R. 35, 2007, p 98th
4. ^ Report of the Sierra Leone Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Sierra Leone Truth & Reconciliation Commission, Volume 2, 2004, p. 92.
5. ↑ Siaka P. Stevens Is Dead at 82; Sierra Leone Leader for 17 Years. The New York Times, May 30, 1988.
6. ↑ Simon Akam: The Vagabond king . In: New Statesman , February 2, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2018.