Gambia, The

With a total area of 11,295 square kilometers (4,000 square miles), the Republic of The Gambia is the smallest country on the continent of Africa. It is bordered by Senegal on all sides except on the Atlantic coast, and for this reason the two countries have many ethnic and cultural ties. The Gambia's population, estimated at 1,501,050 in 2003, consists primarily of Muslim ethnic groups, but 10 percent of the population is Christian. English is the official language, although a number of African dialects are spoken widely. The capital of the country is Banjul (called Bathurst until 1973).

The Gambia came under total British control in 1902 and was a British colony until 1965. A system of local rule was established until World War II

(1939–1945), when Britain began to prepare the country for independence. The Gambia achieved self-governance in 1963 and independence on February 1965. After a referendum in 1970 the country became a republic.

The Gambia is a multiparty democracy with a presidential–parliamentary system of government. The government is headed by a president who is popularly elected for a five-year term. The unicameral legislature, the House of Representatives, consists of forty-nine members; forty-five members are elected, and five are appointed by the president. The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, headed by President Yahya Jammeh (b. 1965), was the ruling party as of 2005. The opposition parties have remained weak and divided.

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, headed by a Supreme Court. Although the lower courts sometimes are subject to corruption and executive branch influence, the judiciary in general has shown its independence on many occasions. The Gambia's legal system is based on English common law, Qur'anic law, and customary law . Administratively, The Gambia consists of five divisions and one city, the capital.

The Gambia's system of government is the culmination of a chain of events that began in 1981 with an unsuccessful coup attempt (suppressed with the intervention of Senegalese troops) by a group of junior-ranking officers. Until that time the country had been one of the democratic oases on the continent of Africa, defying the conventional view that Islam and democracy are incompatible. Within the next ten years the country formed and dissolved a confederation with Senegal, experienced coups and countercoups and elections in between, and finally reverted to democratic rule in 2001.

Once among the best in Africa, The Gambia's human rights record was poor during the military takeover that lasted from 1994 until 2001. Since that time the situation has improved considerably, but the combination of repressive measures and political intimidation during elections earned The Gambia a rating of "partially free" in Freedom House's rankings in 2003.

See also: Parliamentary Systems; Presidential Systems; Republic.

bibliography

Freedom House. "The Gambia." Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/gambia.htm>.

"Gambia, The." In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ga.html>.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. "The Gambia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2005. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41605.htm>.

Ayo Ogundele

Sir Dauda Kairaba Jawara

Sir Dauda Kairaba Jawara (born 1924) led his nation of the Gambia to independence and became its first president. Until a military coup in 1994, this veterinary surgeon brought years of stable parliamentary democracy to Africa's smallest republic.

Dauda Jawara was born into a Moslem Mandingo family at Barajally, MacCarthy Island Division, in the Gambian Protectorate, a British colony. He was educated in a local Moslem primary institution and at the Methodist Boys' Grammar School. From 1945 to 1947 Jawara was a trainee nurse in the Gambia Medical Department.

Medical School

Awarded a veterinary scholarship, Jawara spent a year studying science at Achimoto College in the Gold Coast (now Ghana). After passing his intermediate bachelor of science examination, he entered the University of Glasgow and graduated from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1953. Jawara was president of the African Students' Union during his years in Scotland.

Upon his return to Africa as his country's first veterinarian, Jawara worked up-country for a short while before joining the government veterinary service in January 1954. In 1958, a year after earning a diploma in tropical veterinary medicine from Glasgow, he became the colony's principal veterinary officer, a post he held until February 1960.

Disturbed by the unequal development between his native Mandingo tribal area and the capital city of Bathurst, he joined the Protectorate People's Party in 1959. By December he was in charge of the organization, which changed its name to the People's Progressive Party.

Jawara resigned his government post to contest the May 1960 elections, in which he won a seat in the House of Representatives. Appointed minister of education (1960-1961) by the British, he spent part of that time in London as a member of a finance delegation.

When Pierre Saar N'Jie, leader of the opposition United Party, was appointed first chief minister of the colony in 1961, Jawara resigned from the government. In the next elections, the People's Progressive Party won the majority of House seats, and Jawara was called on to form a government. He thus became Gambia's first premier. When the Gambia achieved independence, on February 18, 1965, he became the prime minister of this smallest African nation. Located on the western coast and containing only 4,127 square miles, the Gambia is a 30-mile-wide strip of land surrounded on three sides by Senegal. Jawara negotiated the Defense and Foreign Representation Agreement, which placed an independent Gambia within the protection of Senegal's foreign affairs.

Sir David

Jawara was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966. He had become a Christian in 1955 and was known as "David" thereafter, but he returned to his Moslem faith in 1965. His wife, the former Augusta Mahoney, an Aku trained in nursing in Britain, campaigned with her husband each time he ran for reelection, urging women to become actively interested in politics. The Jawaras had five children.

When an April 1970 referendum changed the Gambia's status to a republic, Jawara became the country's first president. He headed one of Africa's most stable and successful parliamentary democracies until, after 24 years in power, he was brought down by a bloodless military coup.

Further Reading

Harry A. Gailey, Jr., A History of the Gambia (1964), discusses Jawara's political career; an informal study of Gambia and its politics is Berkeley Rice, Enter Gambia: The Birth of an Improbable Nation (1967). □

Gambia, The

Land and Climate

The Gambia consists of a narrow strip of land bordering the River Gambia, and is enclosed by Senegal, except for a short Atlantic coastline. Near the sea, the land is flat. Gambia has hot, humid summers. In winter (November to May), temperatures drop to c.16°C (61°F). Mangrove swamps line the river banks. Much tropical savanna has been cleared for farming. Gambia is rich in wildlife.

History and Politics

Portuguese mariners reached Gambia's coast in 1455, when the area was part of the Mali empire. In the 16th century, Portuguese and English slave traders operated in the area. In 1664, the British established a settlement and later founded a colony, Senegambia (1765), which included parts of present-day Gambia and Senegal. In 1783, this was handed over to France. In 1816, Britain founded Bathurst (now Banjul) as a base for its anti-slavery operations. In 1888, Gambia became a British colony and remained under British rule until it achieved full independence in 1965 with Dawda Jawara as prime minister. In 1970, The Gambia became a republic. In 1981, an attempted coup was defeated with the help of Senegalese troops. In 1992, Jawara was re-elected as president for a fifth term. In July 1994, he was overthrown in a military coup, led by Yahya Jammeh. In 1996, Jammeh was elected president. His regime faced charges of political repression. In 2000, more than 12 people were shot dead during student demonstrations. In 2001, Jammeh lifted the ban on opposition parties and was elected for a second term in office.

Economy

Agriculture employs more than 80% of the workforce (2000 GDP per capita US$1100). The main food crops are cassava, millet, and sorghum; groundnuts are the leading export. Tourism is increasingly important.

Political map

Physical map

Websites

http://www.gambia.gm