Dawda Jawara

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Sir Dawda Jawara GCMG
Jawara in 1979
1st President of the Gambia
In office 24 April 1970 – 22 July 1994
Vice President	Sheriff Mustapha Dibba Assan Musa Camara Alhajie Alieu Badara Njie Bakary Bunja Darbo Saihou Sabally
Preceded by	Elizabeth II as Queen of the Gambia
Succeeded by	Yahya Jammeh
Vice President of Senegambia
In office 12 December 1981 – 30 September 1989
President	Abdou Diouf
Prime Minister of the Gambia
In office 12 June 1962 – 24 April 1970
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governors General	Sir John Paul Sir Farimang Singhateh
Governor	Sir John Paul (1962–1965)
Preceded by	Pierre Sarr N'Jie
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	Dawda Kairaba Jawara (1924-05-16)16 May 1924 Barajally, MacCarthy Island Division, British Gambia
Died	27 August 2019(2019-08-27) (aged 95) Fajara, Bakau, The Gambia
Political party	People’s Progressive Party (PPP)
Spouses	Augusta Mahoney ​ ​ (m. 1955; div. 1967)​ Chilel N'Jie ​ (m. 1968)​ Njaimeh M'Boge ​ (m. 1970)​
Children	Bolumbo Jawara
Alma mater	University of Glasgow University of Liverpool University of Edinburgh

Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara^[1] GCMG (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019^[2][3]) was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of The Gambia from 1970 to 1994, when he was deposed.

Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island Division, the son of Mamma Fatty and Almami Jawara. He was educated at the Methodist Boys' School in Banjul (Bathurst) and then attended Achimota College in Ghana. He trained as a veterinary surgeon at the University of Glasgow's School of Veterinary Medicine, then completed his training at the University of Liverpool and the University of Edinburgh. He returned to The Gambia in 1953 and married Augusta Mahoney, beginning work as a veterinary officer. He entered politics and became secretary of the new People's Progressive Party (PPP) and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1960 election. He became the leader of the PPP and then the country's first Prime Minister in 1962, only the second-ever head of government following Pierre Sarr N'Jie's term as Chief Minister.

Under Jawara, The Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965. He remained as Prime Minister and Elizabeth II remained as head of state as Queen of The Gambia. In 1970, The Gambia became a republic, and Jawara was elected as its first President. The greatest challenge to Jawara's power came in 1981 when an attempted coup d'état took place and soldiers from neighbouring Senegal were forced to intervene, with 400 to 800 deaths reported by the end of the coup attempt. Following the coup attempt, Jawara and Senegalese President Abdou Diouf announced the creation of the Senegambia Confederation, but it proved to be short-lived and ultimately collapsed eight years later in 1989.

Jawara continued to rule until 1994 when a coup d'état led by Yahya Jammeh seized power. Following this, he went into exile, but returned in 2002, and lived in retirement in The Gambia until his death in 2019.