Upon Milton Margai's unexpected death in 1964, his half-brother, Sir Albert Margai, was appointed as Prime Minister by parliament. Sir Albert's leadership was briefly challenged by Foreign Minister John Karefa-Smart, who questioned Sir Albert's succession to the SLPP leadership position. Karefa-Smart led a prominent small minority faction within the SLPP party in opposition of Albert Margai as Prime Minister. However, Karefa-Smart failed to receive strong support within the SLPP and the SLPP dominated members of parliament in his attempt to have Albert Margai stripped of his position as the leader of the SLPP and prime minister of the country. The large majority of SLPP members backed Albert Margai over Karefa-Smart. Soon after Albert Margai was sworn in as Prime Minister, he dismissed several senior government officials who had served under his elder brother Milton's government, viewing them as a threat to his administration, including Karefa-Smart.