View source for List of heads of state of the Gambia

{{Short description|None}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Politics of The Gambia}}

This is a list of the '''heads of state of The Gambia''', from the independence of [[The Gambia]] in 1965 to the present day.

From 1965 to 1970 the head of state under the [[Constitution of the Gambia|Constitution]] of 1965 was the [[queen of the Gambia]], [[Elizabeth II]], who was also the monarch of other [[Commonwealth realm]]s. The monarch was represented in the Gambia by a governor-general. The Gambia became a [[Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations|republic within the Commonwealth]] under the Constitution of 1970 and the monarch and governor-general were replaced by an executive [[President of the Gambia|president]].

==Monarch (1965–1970)==
The succession to the throne was the same as the [[succession to the British throne]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! colspan="3" |Reign
! rowspan="2" |Royal House
! rowspan="2" |[[Prime Minister of the Gambia|Prime minister(s)]]
|-
! Reign start
! Reign end
! Duration
|-
! 1
| [[File:Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (3x4 close cropped).jpg|90px]]
| Queen [[Elizabeth II]]<br />{{small|(1926–2022)}}
| {{nowrap|18 February}} 1965
| {{nowrap|24 April}} 1970
| {{ayd|1965|2|18|1970|4|24}}
| [[House of Windsor|Windsor]]
| [[Dawda Jawara|Jawara]]
|}

===Governor-general===
The governor-general was the representative of the monarch in the Gambia and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The governor-general was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since the Gambia was granted independence by the [[Gambia Independence Act 1964]], rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous [[dominion]] and later promoted to independence as defined by the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], the governor-general was to be always appointed solely on the advice of the [[Cabinet of the Gambia]] without the involvement of the British government, with the sole exception of John Paul, the former colonial governor, who served as governor-general temporarily until he was replaced by Farimang Mamadi Singateh. In the event of a vacancy the [[Chief Justice of the Gambia|chief justice]] would have served as the [[Administrator of the government|officer administering the government]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Monarch
! rowspan="2" |[[Prime Minister of the Gambia|Prime minister(s)]]
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! 1
| [[File:No image.png|90px]]
| [[John Paul (colonial administrator)|Sir John Paul]]<br />{{small|(1916–2004)}}
| {{nowrap|18 February}} 1965
| {{nowrap|9 February}} 1966
| {{ayd|1965|2|18|1966|2|9}}
| rowspan=2|[[Elizabeth II]]
| rowspan=2|[[Dawda Jawara|Jawara]]
|-
! 2
| [[File:No image.png|90px]]
| [[Farimang Singhateh|Sir Farimang Singateh]]<br />{{small|(1912–1977)}}
| {{nowrap|9 February}} 1966
| {{nowrap|24 April}} 1970
| {{ayd|1966|2|9|1970|4|24}}
|}

==Republic (1970–present)==
;Political parties
{{legend|{{party color|People's Progressive Party (The Gambia)}}|[[People's Progressive Party (The Gambia)|People's Progressive Party]] (PPP)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend|{{party color|Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction}}|[[Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction]] (APRC)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend|{{party color|National People's Party (The Gambia)}}|[[National People's Party (The Gambia)|National People's Party]] (NPP)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

;Other factions
{{legend|{{party color|Military rule}}|[[Gambia Armed Forces|Military]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend|{{party color|Independent politician}}|[[Independent politician|Independent]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

===First Republic (1970–1994)===
Under the Constitution of 1970, the first constitution of the Republic of the Gambia, the president replaced the monarch as executive head of state. The president was elected by the [[National Assembly of the Gambia|National Assembly]] for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the [[Vice-President of the Gambia|vice-president]] served as [[acting (law)|acting]] president.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! rowspan="2" |Elected
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Political party
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! style="background:{{party color|People's Progressive Party (The Gambia)}}; color:white;"| 1
| [[File:Dawda Jawara (1979).jpg|90px]]
| [[Dawda Jawara|Sir Dawda Jawara]]<br />{{small|(1924–2019)}}
| [[1972 Gambian general election|1972]]<br />[[1977 Gambian general election|1977]]<br />[[1982 Gambian general election|1982]]<br />[[1987 Gambian general election|1987]]<br />[[1992 Gambian general election|1992]]
| {{nowrap|24 April}} 1970
| {{nowrap|22 July}} 1994<br>{{small|([[1994 Gambian coup d'état|Deposed in a coup]])}}
| {{ayd|1970|4|24|1994|7|22}}
| [[People's Progressive Party (The Gambia)|PPP]]
|}

===Military rule (1994–1996)===
[[Yahya Jammeh|Colonel Yahya Jammeh]] led a [[1994 Gambian coup d'état|coup d'état]] which overthrew President Jawara and his government, all political parties and Parliament were dissolved.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Political party
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! style="background:{{party color|Military rule}}; color:black;"| 2
| [[File:Yahya Jammeh (3x4 cropped).jpg|90px]]
| [[Yahya Jammeh|{{small|Colonel}} Yahya Jammeh]]<br />{{small|(born 1965)}}<br />{{small|Chairman of the [[Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council|AFPRC]]}}
| {{nowrap|22 July}} 1994
| {{nowrap|6 November}} 1996
| {{ayd|1994|7|22|1996|11|6}}
| [[Gambia Armed Forces|Military]]
|}

===Second Republic (1996–present)===
Under the current constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, the president is executive head of state. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy, the [[Vice-President of the Gambia|vice-president]] will serve as [[acting (law)|acting]] president.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! rowspan="2" |Elected
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Political party
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! style="background:{{party color|Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction}}; color:white;"| {{small|(2)}}
| [[File:Yahya Jammeh (3x4 cropped).jpg|90px]]
| [[Yahya Jammeh]]<br />{{small|(born 1965)}}
| [[1996 Gambian presidential election|1996]]<br />[[2001 Gambian presidential election|2001]]<br />[[2006 Gambian presidential election|2006]]<br />[[2011 Gambian presidential election|2011]]
| {{nowrap|6 November}} 1996
| {{nowrap|21 January}} 2017{{efn|Jammeh's presidential term was originally scheduled to end on 19 January 2017. However, in a widely disputed move amidst a [[2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis|constitutional crisis]], the [[National Assembly of the Gambia|National Assembly]] extended his term for three months and he refused to relinquish power until 21 January, when he was forced to step down after the [[ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia|ECOWAS military intervention]]. Adama Barrow nevertheless took his oath at the Gambian Embassy in Senegal on 19 January, as scheduled, after which much of the international community recognised him as the legitimate President.}}
| {{ayd|1996|11|6|2017|1|21}}
| [[Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction|APRC]]
|-
! rowspan=2 style="background:#40484F; color:white;"| 3
| rowspan=2|[[File:Adama Barrow - 2018 (39774084330) (cropped).jpg|90px]]
| rowspan=2|[[Adama Barrow]]<br />{{small|(born 1965)}}
| rowspan=2|[[2016 Gambian presidential election|2016]]<br />[[2021 Gambian presidential election|2021]]
| rowspan=2|{{nowrap|19 January}} 2017{{efn|Barrow was inaugurated on 19 January 2017 at the Gambian embassy in Senegal, but Yahya Jammeh did not relinquish his position until 21 January. Barrow returned to Gambia on 26 January and took the oath of office a second time on 18 February.}}
| rowspan=2|Incumbent
| rowspan=2|{{ayd|2017|1|19}}
| [[Coalition 2016]]<br>{{small|(until 2019)}}
|-
| [[National People's Party (The Gambia)|NPP]]
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Timeline since 1970==
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:21
PlotArea  = top:10 bottom:80 right:150 left:20
AlignBars = late

Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}

Colors =
  id:military value:rgb(0.76,0.69,0.57) legend:Military
  id:ppp      value:rgb(1,0.41,0.71)    legend:People's_Progressive_Party
  id:aprc     value:rgb(0.13,0.42,0.27) legend:Alliance_for_Patriotic_Reorientation_and_Construction
  id:c2016    value:rgb(0.83,0.64,0.08) legend:Coalition_2016
  id:npp      value:rgb(0.25,0.28,0.31) legend:National_People's_Party

  id:gray1  value:gray(0.85)
  id:gray2  value:gray(0.95)

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:01/01/1970 till:31/12/{{#expr:{{#time:Y}}+1}}
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1970
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1970

Legend     = columns:1 left:150 top:35 columnwidth:170
 
TextData =
  pos:(20,38) textcolor:black fontsize:M
  text:"Political party:"

BarData =
 bar:Jawara
 bar:Jammeh
 bar:Barrow

PlotData =
  width:5 align:left fontsize:9 shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

 bar:Jawara
  from: 24/04/1970 till: 22/07/1994 color:ppp  text:"[[Dawda Jawara]]"
 bar:Jammeh
  from: 22/07/1994 till: 06/11/1996 color:military
  from: 06/11/1996 till: 21/01/2017 color:aprc text:"[[Yahya Jammeh]]"
 bar:Barrow
  from: 19/01/2017 till: 31/12/2019 color:c2016
  from: 31/12/2019 till: $today     color:npp  text:"[[Adama Barrow]]"

}}

==Standards==
<gallery class="center">
File:Flag of the Governor-General of The Gambia (1965-1970).svg|Governor-General's standard
File:Flag of the President of The Gambia.svg|Presidential standard
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|The Gambia|Politics}}
* [[History of the Gambia]]
* [[Politics of the Gambia]]
* [[List of colonial governors of the Gambia]]
* [[Prime Minister of the Gambia]]

==External links==
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Gambia.html World Statesmen – The Gambia]
* [http://rulers.org/rulg1.html#gambia Rulers.org – The Gambia]

{{Heads of State of the Gambia}}
{{Gambia topics}}
{{Representatives of the monarch in Commonwealth realms and Dominions}}

[[Category:Heads of state of the Gambia|*]]
[[Category:Lists of political office-holders in the Gambia|Head]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Gambia|*]]
[[Category:Lists of heads of state|Gambia]]
[[Category:Gambia history-related lists|Heads of state of the Gambia]]