Bio was nevertheless re-elected the following year, though the elections were marred by violence and raised concern from international observers due to a lack of transparency in the counting process.

Julius Maada Wonie Bio was born on 12 May 1964, in Tihun, a village in the Sogbini Chiefdom, Bonthe District in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone.

However, Bio ultimately enrolled in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces military academy at Benguema, just outside the capital city of Freetown.

Bio was later posted to Kambia District as part of the Economic Emergency Unit, created by President Joseph Saidu Momoh to combat smuggling and other crimes along the Guinean border.

[3] In 1990, the Sierra Leone Government contributed military personnel to the West African Peacekeeping Force, ECOMOG, which was mandated to keep the peace in the Liberian civil war.

At the time, thousands of Liberians were fleeing to Sierra Leone weekly, exposing the country's fragile security and adding to the economic hardship.

The young soldiers formed the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) with Strasser as their leader and Head of State of Sierra Leone.

[4] After retiring from the military in 1996, Bio moved to the United States, where he earned a master's degree in International Affairs from American University in Washington, DC.

He also served as the president of International Systems Science Corporation, a consulting and investment management firm based in the United States.

In the national election, he faced off with President Ernest Bai Koroma of the ruling APC and was defeated, winning 37% of the vote, but established the SLPP as the only viable opposition party in Sierra Leone.

He succeeded Ernest Bai Koroma of the APC who had been president since 2007, and who had to step down from his post having reached the constitutional term limit.

In his first two months in office, Bio sacked all of Sierra Leone's ambassadors and permanent representatives abroad in the immediate past government of Ernest Bai Koroma.

Bio's administration, led by his Chief Minister David J. Francis, issued an investigative report accusing former president Ernest Bai Koroma and his previous government of widespread financial corruption.

In February 2019, President Bio declared a state of emergency in Sierra Leone due to endemic sexual violence.

[14] In August 2022, anti-government protests, sparked by the country's cost of living crisis, called for Bio's resignation and resulted in several deaths.

[16] On 21 June 2023, days before the 2023 Sierra Leonean general election, another violent protest occurred outside the All People's Congress headquarters, resulting in at least one death.

[17] President Bio attended the Global Education Summit in July 2021, and said on Twitter that he had "a zestful and productive meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson."

[20][21][22] In May 2023, Bio urged an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine "for the sake of humanity", stating that he believes "even those who sympathise with Russia are in favour of stopping this war".

This pronouncement was criticized by local and international elections observers, citing a lack of transparency in the counting process, and opposition leader Kamara rejecting the outcome.