Equatorial Guinea gained its independence from Spain in October 1968. In August of that year, a draft constitution was put to a referendum. 63% of the electorate voted in favour of the constitution, which provided for a government with a General Assembly and a Supreme Court with judges appointed by the president. Francisco Macías Nguema was elected as the first president of Equatorial Guinea.
President Nguema created a single-party state to consolidate his power and a new constitution was approved in a referendum on July 29th 1973.
The totalitarian rule of the President had a devasting effect on the country. Nguema was deposed in a military coup led by Lt. Colonel Teodore Obiang Nguema on August 3rd 1979. Nguema was arrested, tried, and executed and Obiang assumed the presidency in October 1979.
A new constitution was approved in a referendum on August 15th 1982. And although there have been several amendments to the constitution since then, the 1982 constitution is still seen as an important milestone in the country's history.
