Government and Politics

Within the confines of the 1991 Constitution, supreme legislative powers are vested in Parliament, which is the law making body of the nation. Supreme executive authority rests in the president and members of his cabinet and judicial power with the judiciary of which the Chief Justice is head.
To be elected president of Sierra Leone, a candidate must gain at least 55% of the vote. If no candidate gets 55%, there is to be a second-round runoff between the top two candidates.
The current president of Sierra Leone is Ernest Bai Koroma, who was sworn in on 17 September 2007, shortly after being declared the winner of a tense run-off election over the incumbent Vice president, Solomon Berewa of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

Ernest Bai Koroma, current president of Sierra Leone

Next to the president is the vice president, who is the second-highest ranking government official in the executive branch of the Sierra Leone Government. The current vice-president is Samuel Sam-Sumana, sworn in on 17 September 2007.

Samuel Sam-Sumana

The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in Freetown is the highest and most powerful court in the country.

Sierra Leone Supreme Court

Since independence in 1961, Sierra Leone's politics has been dominated by two major political parties, the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), and the ruling All People's Congress (APC), although other minor political parties have also existed but with no significant supports.
The judicial power of Sierra Leone is vested in the judiciary, headed by the Chief Justice and comprising the Sierra Leone Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country and its ruling therefore cannot be appealed; High Court of Justice; the Court of Appeal; the magistrate courts; and traditional courts in rural villages. The president appoints and parliament approves Justices for the three courts. The Judiciary have jurisdiction in all civil and criminal matters throughout the country. The current Sierra Leone's Chief Justice is Umu Hawa Tejan Jalloh, who was appointed by President Ernest Bai Koroma and took office on 25 January 2008 upon her confirmation by parliament. She is the first woman in the history of Sierra Leone to hold such position.

Umu Hawa Tejan Jalloh

By Daiane Freire

* News *

Angelina Jolie laughed about his superstar status in Hollywood when she visited places around the globe where most women live in absolute poverty. Many of these people didn't know what was an actress.
The UNICEF ambassador says that wore the mantle of humility when she visited a group of refugees in Sierra Leone, and describing her work, people found it funny.

Jolie says:"They asked me, 'What do you do?" And I said,' I am an actress and they said, 'What is it?' I said, 'Well ... I dress in strange clothes and then I tell stories' ... and they found it very entertaining and they said,' What a crazy thing you do for a living’."

Angelina Jolie: Goodwill Ambassador of the High Commissioner of the United Nations

By Letícia Moy

Sierra Leone Civil War

Sierra Leone Civil War began in 1992, by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), under the command of Foday Sankoh. Tens of thousands of people died and more than 2 million people (well over a third of the population) were displaced by 10 years of conflict. Neighbouring countries have become host to a significant number of refugees fleeing the civil war. The end of the conflict was officially declared in January 18, 2002. ¹

Sierra Leone, who lived ten years of civil war until 2002, recorded more than 30 000 dead.²

By Letícia Moy

¹ --> http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerra_Civil_de_Serra_Leone
² --> http://revistamarieclaire.globo.com/Marieclaire/0,6993,EML510601-1740,00.html

The Beginning...

        It was a colony under the auspices of the Sierra Leone Company from March 11, 1792 until it became a british colony, in 1808. Sierra Leone is now a constitutional republic comprising with four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area, which are further divided into fourteen districts.

        Freetown is the capital: largest city and economic and financial center. The other major cities are Bo, Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni. Despite this natural wealth, the vast majority of its people live in poverty.

        Sierra Leone is a predominantly muslim nation, though with a significant christian minority. The country is home to about sixteen ethnic groups, each with its own language and costume. The two largest and most influential are the Mende and Temne. Unlike most african nations, Sierra Leone has no serious ethnic or religious divisions. People are often married across tribal and religious boundaries.

               The first habitants of Sierra Leone included: the Sherbro, Temne and Limba peoples, and later the Mende, who knew the country as Romarong, and the Kono who settled in the east of the country. In 1462, it was visited by the portuguese explorer, Pedro da Cintra, who dubbed it "Lion Mountains".

               Sierra Leone, later, became an important centre of the transatlantic trade in slaves until march 11, 1792, when Freetown was founded by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved african americans. In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony and, in 1896,  the interior of the country became a British Protectorate; in 1961, the two regions gained independence.

By Luana Rosa

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serra_Leoa