Everything about Milton Margai totally explained
Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (
December 7,
1895 -
April 28,
1964) was a
Sierra Leonean politician 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.
Early life
Margai was born in the town of Gbangbatoke, in what is now part of
Moyamba District in the
Southern Province of Sierra Leone to
Mende parents. At the time of his birth his country was a British Protectorate. His father, M.E.S. Margai, hailed from
Bonthe and was an affluent businessman. He received his primary education at the Evangelical United Brethren School in Bonthe and his secondary education at Albert Academy in
Freetown. He earned his bachelors degree in history and was the first Protectorate man to graduate from
Fourah Bay College in
1921. Margai went to medical school in England and became doctor in
1926 at College Medical School, University of Durham. Margai also attended the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He was the first Protectorate man to become a medical doctor.
Margai played several musical instruments: the piano, violin and the organ.
Medical career
Margai returned to Sierra Leone in
1928 after earning his medical degree and enjoyed an exceptional career in the Colonial Medical Service. He served in 11 of 12 districts in the protectorate. He waged informational campaigns on social welfare and hygiene.
Women's Health Reform
Margai trained health care workers to instruct female community leaders in the Mende women's association, The Sande, to give courses in hygiene, literacy and child care to young female members.
Working in concert with local women's groups, Margai trained midwives and was the author of an instruction manual on midwifery in the Mende language.
Poltical career
In
1949 he founded the nationalist
Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) with
Siaka Stevens, which won the
1951 election to the Legislative Council. After heading the departments of Health, Agriculture, and Forestry, he was elected chief minister in
1954. Although the SLPP won
elections again in 1957, the following year Margai's leadership of the party was challenged by his younger brother,
Albert, but even though he narrowly won the internal party election, he declined the leadership of the party, and left to form the opposition People's National Party, rejoining his brother in a coalition government in
1960.
Colonialism
Though Margai was Pro-British and conservative in his political views, he felt that Sierra Leone would fare better as a self-determined state.
1958 Constitution
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.
Independence
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.
Premiership
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.
Knighthood
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.
Legacy
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.
Sir Milton Margai School for the Blind
In
1961 Margai appealed for funding to build a school for the blind in
Freetown. In
1962, he set the foundation stone for the building at Wilkinson Road. The school motto is: "We can't see but we'll conquor". In
2006, the school was the subject of a three part documentary on
BBC News. The Milton Margai School for the Blind Choir has toured the UK twice in
2003 and
2006.
Milton Margai College of Education and Technology
In
1963 the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology was established. The first incarnation of the school was the Milton Margai Teacher's College but as the school grew and the curriculum expanded the name was changed to the Milton Margai College of Education. In
2000the school merged with the Freetown Technical Institute.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Milton Margai'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://milton_margai.totallyexplained.com">Milton Margai Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
