Margai, Milton

Sir Milton Augustus Stribi Margai ( English Milton Augustus Strieby Margai , December 7, 1895 , Gbangbatoka , Sierra Leone - April 28, 1964 , Freetown ) - the first prime minister of independent Sierra Leone from 1961 to 1964 , the father of the country's independence.

Born into a family of a Mende merchant, he was the eldest of 18 children (one of his brothers, Albert Margai , also entered politics). In 1921, he became the first representative of the indigenous population to receive a bachelor's degree (in history) at Fura Bay College in Freetown, and in 1926 he became the first native of Sierra Leone who was educated in the UK after graduating from the Medical College of Durham University in Newcastle . Returning home, he made great efforts to distribute medical buildings among the female part of the population of the colony.

In 1951, together with Syaka Stevens , he created the People’s Party of Sierra Leone , which in the same year won the election to the legislative council of the colony, and Margai, after a series of ministerial posts, took the newly created chief minister in 1954 . In 1957, after a second election victory, he briefly ceded his post as party leader to Brother Albert, but disagreements with a more radical stance on decolonization of Stevens, supported by Albert Margai, led to the split of NPSL and the creation of a new People's National Party (although in 1960 Albert Margai returned to the ranks of the party of the brother). In 1958, Margai secured the adoption of the constitution of the colony, which introduced the Westminster-type parliamentary system and the post of prime minister, which he occupied. Although Margai adhered to conservative views and advocated close cooperation with Great Britain , he consistently supported the country's independence, which was achieved in 1961 (although Queen Elizabeth II , represented by the Governor-General, remained head of state until 1971 ). In 1962, Margai was able to retain power as a result of the next general election, but in 1964 he died in a plane crash and was buried in the basement of the parliament building. His successor was Brother Albert Margai.