State House, Sierra Leone

The State House
General information
Address	State Avenue, Tower Hill, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Coordinates	8°29′12.21″N 13°14′2.1″W
Current tenants	Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone, First Lady Fatima Maada Bio, and their family
Completed	1895 (122 years old)
Inaugurated	1894
Owner	Government of Sierra Leone
Landlord	Government of Sierra Leone

The State House is the official residence and official workplace of the President of Sierra Leone. The State House is located at State Avenue, Tower Hill, in central Freetown, within the downtown of the city. The State house is often locally referred to as the seat of power.

The Presidential cabinet meetings, meetings with visiting foreign heads of state and international delegations are all held at the State House.

The state House is a short distance from the Sierra Leone House of Parliament, just a few blocks from the Sierra Leone Ministry of Defence building, the Sierra Leone National Electoral Commission (NEC) building, and just a few miles from the Bank of Sierra Leone building.

Security

The State House is heavily protected by the Presidential Guard unit that is made up of a special unit of Sierra Leonean soldiers of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces, and a special unit of Sierra Leonean police officers of the Operational Support Division (OSD) of the Sierra Leone Police Force.

The entrance to the State House is closed to the public and only authorized persons or vehicles are permitted to enter the State House.

Staff

The president senior staff members have their offices inside the State House, including the office of the current president Chief Minister, Chief of Staff Presidential press secretary, the office of the Aide de camp to the president, the office of the Sierra Leone Ministry of political Affairs, the office of the national security adviser to the president, the office of the senior political advisors to the president, and the office of the senior economic advisers to the president, among others.

History

The State House was built in 1895 and was initially referred to as Fort Thornton. In the colonial days it was the residence of the Governor of Sierra Leone. It became the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sierra Leone from 1961-1971. Since 1971, the State House has served as the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Sierra Leone.

External links

• www.statehouse.gov.sl The Republic of Sierra Leone State House