| Head of State | Date | Type of Regime | Comments |
| Sir Milton Margai | 1961-1964 | Conservative and pragmatist; multi-party system | Established the SLPP. Relied on chiefs’ patronage for support. Died of natural causes in 1964 while in office. |
| Sir Albert Margai | 1964-1967 | Reformist; non-Ideologue | Preferred a popular appeal for SLPP. Accused of corruption, tribalism and authoritarianism in his last days. |
| Andrew Juxon-Smith | 1967-1968 | Military junta | Implemented an austere IMF reform package; set up commissions of inquiry; removed from power by a counter-coup. |
| Siaka P. Stevens | 1968-1985 | Personalist. authoritarian. accommodationist | Founded the APC party; introduced republic and one-party state; corrupt; enlarged the bureaucracy; failed to introduce economic reforms; managed the succession. |
| Joseph S. Momoh | 1985-1992 | Personalist; benign authoritarianism. nationalist in rhetoric | Abolished one party in 1991 and introduced some liberal reforms; intervened in Liberia in 1990; rebel activity started in 1991; overthrown by a military coup d’état. |
| Valentine Strasser/Maada Bio | 1992-1996 | Military junta | Initially populist; carried out the largest series of political executions in December 1992; set up commissions of inquiry on ex- ministers; rebel activity intensifies. |
| Dr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah | 1996-1997 | Multi-party system/democratic governance | First political regime with some features of modern democracy. Was however toppled by a Military junta Headed by Major Johnny Paul Koroma on the 25th May 1997. |
| Johnny Paul Koroma | 1997-1998 | Military junta | Ruled for barely a year as the toppled democratic presidency of Tejan Kabbah fought back with assistance from ECOMOG and British Forces. |
| Dr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah | 1998-2007 | Multi-party system/democratic governance. Notable political and governance reforms | The democratic regime resumed power before mid-mid-1998 and ruled unto 2007 winning another election in 2002 following the declaration of the end of the civil war few months before the elections. However, in January 1999 the government had been temporary disjointed as the rebel fought into the capital city but could not establish full control of governance and was again driven out with assistance of ECOMOG forces |
| Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma | 2007-2018 | Multi-party system/democratic governance. More of a populist leader with much political will in infrastructural Development | In 2007, the first peaceful transition of governance took place between two democratic civil regimes. The opposition APC party that had earlier ruled the country for 23 years won the elections under the leadership of Ernest Bai Koroma. To date, he remains the president of the country |
| Dr. Julius Maada Bio | 2018-Date | This is also another multi-party system/democratic governance. More of a regimental leadership with much political will in controlling corruption | In 2018, we also saw a peaceful transition of governance between two democratic civil regimes. The opposition APC party that had earlier ruled the country for another 11 years to the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) under the leadership of Dr Julius Maada Bia |