Albert Margai
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The Right Honourable Sir Albert Margai JD |
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|---|---|
| Prime Minister of Sierra Leone | |
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In office 28 April 1964 – 21 March 1967 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Milton Margai |
| Succeeded by | Siaka Stevens |
| Minister of Finance | |
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In office 1962–1964 |
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| Minister of Agriculture | |
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In office 1959–1962 |
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| Head of Sierra Leone People's Party | |
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In office 1957–1957 |
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| Preceded by | Milton Margai |
| Succeeded by | Milton Margai |
| Member of Parliament for Moyamba Moyamba (1957) |
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In office 1957–1957 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Albert Michael Margai 10 October 1910 Gbangbatoke, Banta Chiefdom, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone |
| Died | 18 December 1980 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Political party | Sierra Leone People's Party |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Christian |
Sir Albert Michael Margai (10 October 1910 – 18 December 1980) was the second prime minister of Sierra Leone and the half-brother of Sir Milton Margai, the country's first Prime Minister. He is also the father of Sierra Leonean politician Charles Margai.
Albert Margai was born in Gbangbatoke, Banta Chiefdom, in what is now the Moyamba District, Freetown. His stepfather, M. E. S. Margai, who gave him the family name Margai, was a wealthy trader from Bonthe. Margai received a Roman Catholic education at St. Edward's Primary School and went on to be one of the first group of students to attend St. Edward's Secondary School.
Margai became a registered nurse and this was his occupation from 1931 to 1944. He later travelled to England and read law at the Inner Temple Inns of Court, where he qualified in 1948. Prior to his political career, he owned a private law practice in Freetown.
Margai was elected first Protectorate Member to the Legislative Council in 1951. In 1952 he became a Cabinet Minister and Sierra Leone's first Minister of Education. In 1957 he was elected Member of Parliament for the Moyamba Constituency).
He served as finance minister in Milton's government after 1962, where he also held positions alternatively in Education, Agriculture, and Natural Resources. After the death of his brother, Sir Albert served from 1964 until 1967.
Margai was a founding member of the Sierra Leone National Party, which was formed in 1949 to advocate and aid in the transition to independence for the country.
However, in the years leading up to independence, Margai was allied more closely with Siaka Stevens than his brother. He took leadership of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) in 1957, but stepped down to form the People's National Party with Stevens. A major point of contention between the two groups involved the degree of involvement of traditional chiefs and traditional rules in the modern state. In fact, Margai openly asked traditional rulers to stay out of politics. He was one of a number of leaders (Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana and Milton Obote in Uganda are other examples) who attempted to remove the system of democratic governance enshrined in multi-party democracy as he believed that this would encourage politicians to accentuate the ethnic differences within the state and therefore threaten the viability of Sierra Leone as a country.
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