State of Sierra Leone | April 27, 1961
Sierra Leone won flag independence from the United Kingdom on April 27, 1961, with Milton Margai as the first Prime Minister. Below is Sir Milton Margai's Independence address to the new nation. M en, women, and children of Sierra Leone, I greet you all on this historic day, and I rejoice with you. Sierra Leone today becomes a unified and independent nation to take her place as an equal partner in the Commonwealth of nations and as equal entity in the world at large. For this, we rejoice, and may your own rejoicing wherever you are, be really full of happiness. We must also face up squarely to the problems which will confront us, and I want you all to understand clearly that the Sierra Leone Government in future will depend very greatly upon the active support and assistance of each one of you. The aim will certainly be to make our country a land worth living in, a land worth serving; but this can only be done by wholehearted service and hard work now. I have told you this b