Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara

Who is Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara?

Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island Division, and became the founding leader of independent Gambia. Educated at a Methodist boys' school before studying veterinary medicine at the University of Glasgow, he qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1953 and returned home to serve as the British colony's principal veterinary officer. Drawn into politics in 1959, he joined the Protectorate People's Party and reshaped it into the People's Progressive Party, which he led to victory in the 1962 general election, becoming prime minister. He guided the Gambia to independence from Britain in 1965 and became president when the country adopted a republican constitution in 1970. Under his leadership the small nation held six consecutive free elections and stood out as one of Africa's few enduring multiparty democracies. He survived an attempted coup in 1981 with Senegalese assistance, which led to the short-lived Senegambia Confederation. He was overthrown in a 1994 military coup led by Yahya Jammeh, lived in exile, and returned home in 2002 after being granted amnesty.

Sources: Britannica, "Dawda Kairaba Jawara" · BlackPast.org, "Dawda Kairaba Jawara (1924-2019)" · Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, "Jawara, Sir Dawda Kairaba"