Stevens, Siaka Probin (1905–1988)

Sierra Leone politician, president 1971–85. He was the leader of the moderate left-wing All People's Congress (APC), from 1978 the country's only legal political party.

Stevens became prime minister in 1968, and in 1971, under a revised constitution, became Sierra Leone's first president. He created a one-party state based on the APC, and remained in power until his retirement at the age of 80.

Born of mixed ethnic origins in the north of the country, he joined the colonial police force in 1923. After leaving the police he became a trade-union activist and was a founder of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) in 1951. After success in the 1957 elections, Stephens quarrelled with the SLPP leadership and left the government. In 1960 he founded the APC and won the 1967 elections. After his retirement in 1985 he wrote his autobiography What Life Has Taught Me.