Government of Sierra Leone
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
| Government type: | constitutional democracy |
| Capital: | name: Freetown geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions: | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
| Independence: | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
| Constitution: | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
| Legal system: | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held on 11 August 2007) election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH 70.6%, Ernest Bai KOROMA 22.4% |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 14 May 2002 (next to be held on 11 August 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.1%, APC 22.4%, PLP 3%, others 4.5%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Political parties and leaders: | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | trade unions and student unions |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
| Flag description: | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |