| President of the Republic of Sierra Leone | |
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 Presidential standard | |
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| Style | His/Her Excellency |
| Residence | State House(official workplace) State Lodge(official residence) |
| Term length | Five years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Sierra Leone (1991) |
| Precursor | Queen of Sierra Leone |
| Formation | 19 April 1971; 54 years ago (1971-04-19) |
| First holder | Christopher Okoro Cole(acting) |
| Deputy | Vice President of Sierra Leone |
| Salary | 12,220 USD annually[1] |
| Website | http://www.statehouse.gov.sl/ |
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 Sierra Leone portal |
Thepresident of the Republic of Sierra Leone is thehead of state and thehead of government ofSierra Leone, as well as thecommander-in-chief of theArmed Forces.
As the head of theexecutive branch of the Sierra Leone government, the president implements laws passed by parliament. The president has influence especially over members of the party of the president in thelegislative branch of Parliament. The president constitutionally appoints judges of the Sierra LeoneJudicial branch, including judges of thehigh court, thecourt of appeals and the Supreme Court. The president heads aCabinet of ministers, which must be approved by theParliament. The president is the most powerful, and the most influential person in the Government of Sierra Leone. The president of Sierra Leone is formally addressed asHis Excellency.
The Sierra Leone President's Office will become vacant if
During times of war, a president's term may be extended beyond the pre-determined two five-year terms, but only in increments in half a year at any one time
Resignations or retirements from the office of the presidency must be given in writing. Written resignations will be given to the Chief Justice. A copy of the resignation will be given to the Speaker and Chief Electoral Commissioner.
Any factors resulting in vacancy of presidency will result in vice-president taking on duties of the presidency and finishing out the affected president's term. Prior to beginning duties of the presidency, the vice-president shall take the proper oath as outlined in the Constitution of Sierra Leone.
The president of Sierra Leone is automatically: (Source: https://statehouse.gov.sl/)
His address is known to be “His Excellency” and is a partnered appointee of Parliament. [3]
The election is through a cycle of 5 consecutive years/terms. The president is elected by an absolute majority vote and has two different rounds in which he is elected through, but has to be met with a certain step by step criteria:
The president's election must take place during the state of his office, in which the former's would be expired following a three-month period.[4]
As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in theConstitution of Sierra Leone. The first president for whom the term limits applied was Kabbah in 2007.[5]
According to the Sierra Leone Constitution, the president receives entitlement and compensation salary within the office he upholds such as:
The President of Sierra Leone official and principal workplace is atState House, located inTower Hill in centralFreetown, thecapital of Sierra Leone.
The president of Sierra Leone has twoofficial residences. The first is atState Lodge, located in theaffluentneighborhood ofHill Station in the west end of Freetown; the second is atKabassa Lodge, located in the affluent neighborhood of Juba Hill in the west end of Freetown.[8]
The current presidentJulius Maada Wonie Bio uses theState Lodge atHill Station as his official residence.[9] The former president of Sierra LeoneAhmad Tejan Kabbah used State Lodge as his residence. Former Sierra Leone presidentsJoseph Saidu Momoh andSiaka Stevens used theKabassa Lodge at Juba Hill as their official residence.
The president of Sierra Leone is heavily guarded by the Presidential Guard, which is made up of a special unit ofsoldiers of theSierra Leone Armed Forces and a special unit ofpolice officers of the Operational Support Division of theSierra Leone Police Force.
Siaska Stevens was representing theAll People's Congress (APC) party in 1967 when he won the general elections and became the Prime Minister. In 1971, the parliamentary system was abolished in favor of a presidential system. This adoption of a new constitution madeSiaska Stevens the first executive President of Sierra Leone.
Eventually, the APC would become the only recognized political party in the country. In 1978, a new constitution was adopted via referendum. This constitution replaced the multi-party system, instituting a single party state. Additionally, executive powers were increased and the presidential term limits increased from four to seven years.
In October 1990, President Momoh appointed a thirty-five member National Constitutional Review Commission. This was in response to the growing opposition of aone-party state. The review commission recommends constitutional changes, providing alternatives to the one-party state.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)| Queen (1961–1971) |  | |
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| President of the First Republic (1971–1992) | ||
| Military regime (1992–1996) | ||
| President of the Second Republic (1996–1997) | ||
| Military regime (1997–1998) | ||
| President of the Second Republic (since 1998) | ||
*Acting president | ||