Julius Maada Bio (born May 12, 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. He is a retired Brigadier General in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military Head of State of Sierra Leone from January 16, 1996, to March 29, 1996 in a military Junta government  . As the candidate of the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party, Bio defeated Samura Kamara of the ruling All People's Congress in the runoff vote of the 2018 Sierra Leone presidential election with 51.8\% of the votes to Kamara's 48.2\%. International and local observers declared the election free and fair. Bio succeeded Ernest Bai Koroma as president. As the main opposition leader, Bio was a critic of his predecessor president Ernest Bai Koroma and his administration. As president, Bio has overturned most of the policies of Ernest Bai Koroma, whom he accuses of corruption, and the two men rarely speak to each other. Bio was the SLPP presidential candidate in the 2012 presidential election, but he received 37\% of the vote as he was defeated by the incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma who won 58\% of the votes. As the military Head of State, Bio returned Sierra Leone to a democratically elected government, when he handed power to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the Sierra Leone People's Party, following Kabbah's victory in the 1996 Sierra Leone presidential election. Upon retiring from the military in 1996, Bio moved to the United States where he was granted political asylum, and he did not visit Sierra Leone from the U.S until 2005 when his safety in the country was guaranteed by then Sierra Leone president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. Bio has a Masters Degree in International Affairs from American University in Washington, D.C.. Bio is also a cadet graduate from Sierra Leone's prestigious Benguema Military Academy. Bio is a practicing Roman Catholic Christian, though his wife, First Lady Fatima Bio is a practicing Muslim . He spent several years in the UK, where he was a student and senior research fellow at the University of Bradford: completing a Masters Degree in research methods and beginning a PhD in peace studies before returning to Sierra Leone to focus on his election campaign .
Julius Maada Bio (born May 12, 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. He is a retired Brigadier General in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military Head of State of Sierra Leone from January 16, 1996, to March 29, 1996 in a military Junta government known as the NPRC . As the candidate of the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party, Bio defeated Samura Kamara of the ruling All People's Congress in the runoff vote of the 2018 Sierra Leone presidential election with 51.8\% of the votes to Kamara's 48.2\%. International and local observers declared the election free and fair. Bio succeeded Ernest Bai Koroma as president. As the main opposition leader, Bio was a critic of his predecessor president Ernest Bai Koroma and his administration. As president, Bio has overturned most of the policies of Ernest Bai Koroma, whom he accuses of corruption, and the two men rarely speak to each other. Bio was the SLPP presidential candidate in the 2012 presidential election, but he received 37\% of the vote as he was defeated by the incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma who won 58\% of the votes. As the military Head of State, Bio returned Sierra Leone to a democratically elected government, when he handed power to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the Sierra Leone People's Party, following Kabbah's victory in the 1996 Sierra Leone presidential election. Upon retiring from the military in 1996, Bio moved to the United States where he was granted political asylum, and he did not visit Sierra Leone from the U.S until 2005. Bio has a Masters Degree in International Affairs from American University in Washington, D.C.. Bio is also a cadet graduate from Sierra Leone's prestigious Benguema Military Academy. Bio is a practicing Roman Catholic Christian, though his wife, First Lady Fatima Bio is a practicing Muslim .
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known as the NPRC
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2005 when his safety in the country was guaranteed by then Sierra Leone president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
2005.
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He spent several years in the UK, where he was a student and senior research fellow at the University of Bradford: completing a Masters Degree in research methods and beginning a PhD in peace studies before returning to Sierra Leone to focus on his election campaign