Sierra Leone and the head of government. The country's capital and largest city is Freetown. Sierra Leone is made up of five administrative regions: the Northern Province, North West Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area. These regions are subdivided into sixteen districts. Sierra Leone was a British Colony from 1806 to 1961. Sierra Leone became independent from the United Kingdom on 27 April 1961, led by Sir Milton Margai. In May 1962, Sierra Leone held its first general elections as an independent nation. On April 19, 1971, Siaka Stevens' government abolished Sierra Leone's parliamentary government system and declared Sierra
Media of Sierra Leone Osman Conteh won the 2002 Macmillan Writer's Prize for African Children's Literature award. The Sierra Leone diaspora has written a high proportion of the books published from Sierra Leone authors, including , written by Ishmael Beah. The book recalls the experiences of Ishmael during the war in Sierra Leone and his following rehabilitation. There are organisations, such as Sierra Leone PEN, who are trying to revitalise the sector. Radio is the most common and trusted media in Sierra Leone with 85% of population having access to the radio and 72% listening daily in 2007. The level of penetration of radio