History
The Gambia's history is marked by almost as much cultural diversity as its current population. The   Portuguese were the first traders in the 16th Century  who introduced peanuts and cotton before leaving a hundred years later, selling their trading rights to the British. Fort James, established by the British, soon had a rival fort at Albreda, built by the French. During the 17th and 18th centuries, these forts were the scenes of periodic battles between the countries striving for control of regional trade. Britain gained all rights to trade in 1783, and administered the territory from Sierra Leone until 1888, when The Gambia became a crown colony, completely surrounded by French Senegal except for a small section of coastline.  The Gambia became an independent country with Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara as first president. He retained power until the beginning of the Second Republic in 1994 under current President H.E. Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh.

The most striking feature and perhaps a significant asset of The Gambia is it's beautiful river (Rver Gambia) with its mouth on the Atlantic and meanders west through mangrove swamps of bambo forests.

The rainy season is short, from July to September, with most of the precipitation falling at night. The climate is dry and warm from December through February, the peak of the tourist season.

Facts about The Gambia

Political and Administrative Perspective

The Gambia gained her independence from Britain on 18^th February 1965 and became a Republic in 24^th of April 1970 and was one of the very few multiparty democracy systems in Africa. The Gambia formed a short-lived confederation of Senegambia with Senegal between 1982 and 1989. In 1991 the two neighbouring countries signed a friendship and co-operation treaty.

The Gambia has since independence experienced political stability. In 1994 peaceful coup followed by a nearly two year-ban of political parties. The 1996 constitution and subsequent parliamentary elections in 1997 have so far maintained stability and have completed a return to constitutional and civilian rule in the country. The country undertook another round of presidential and legislative elections in late 2001 and early 2002. H.E. Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, the leader of the 1994 political change was been elected president in all subsequent elections.

In 2004 the political landscape of the country saw the creation of a political alliance grouping the main opposition parties, NADD (National Alliance for Democracy and Development) and an MOU was signed among all the political parties registered in the country. In October 2006 presidential election, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh was re-elected as President for a third five-year term of office.

The Government of the Gambia has, however, made significant strides in improving gender equality, economic and political good governance. Some of the key indicators include the appointment of four Cabinet ministers, one of which is the Vice President, the establishment of the Independent Electoral Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Governance Commission, safeguarding the independence of the Judiciary, Gambia’s qualification for the Millennium Challenge Account of the United State, the creation of the Anti-corruption Commission and a number of policy and legal reforms. In additional, the government of the Gambia made crucial policies and legal reforms in the areas of Public Financial Management, Public Procurement, The Judiciary, the Civil Service, Decentralization and Local Government, institutional reorganization of the Central Bank of the Gambia