Inaugural holder Siaka Stevens | Formation 19 April 1971 | |
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Residence State House
State Avenue, Tower Hill, Freetown, Sierra Leone Term length Five years, renewable once Website | ||
The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The President appoints and heads a Cabinet of ministers (including the Vice President), which must be approved by the Parliament.
Contents
The President of Sierra Leone is addressed as His Excellency. The current President of Sierra Leone is Ernest Bai Koroma.
Term
The president is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two five-year terms.
Election
To be elected president of Sierra Leone, a candidate must gain at least 55 percent of the vote. If no candidate gets the 55 percent requirement, there will be a second-round runoff between the top two candidates with the most votes in the first round. For qualification to be elected President of Sierra Leone, the person must be a Sierra Leonean citizen by birth; should have attained the age of 40 years; should be a member of a political party; and should be able to speak and read the English language. The current president of Sierra Leone is Ernest Bai Koroma. Koroma was sworn in as president on 17 September 2007, shortly after being declared the winner of a tense run-off election.
Residence
The President of Sierra Leone official and principal workplace is at State House, located in Tower Hill in central Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.
The president of Sierra Leone has two official residence. The first is at State Lodge, located in the affluent neighborhood of Hill Station in the west end of Freetown; the second is at Kabasa Lodge, located in the affluent neighborhood of Juba Hill in the west end of Freetown.
The current president Ernest Bai Koroma uses the State Lodge at Hill Station as his official residence. The former president of Sierra Leone Ahmad Tejan Kabbah used State Lodge as his residence. Former Sierra Leone an presidents Joseph Saidu Momoh and Siaka Stevens used the Kabasa Lodge at Juba Hill as their official residence.
Security
The President of Sierra Leone is heavily guarded by the Presidential Guard, which is made up of both a special unit of soldiers of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces and a special unit of the Sierra Leone Police Force.