Dawda Jawara, a veterinarian-turned-politician who led Gambia to independence from the British and then presided over the country as it became one of Africa’s longest-running democracies, died on Aug. 27 at his home in Fajara, a coastal suburb of Banjul, the capital. He was 95.

Mr. Jawara was long hailed for promoting tolerance, human rights and the rule of law at a time when sub-Saharan Africa was dominated by authoritarianism and military regimes.

He was president of his small West African nation until 1994, when, in a bloodless coup, it fell into the hands of Yahya Jammeh, a young officer who embarked on a brutal 22-year rule.

Some of Mr. Jawara’s success came from the contacts he made before he became a politician, when he traveled the countryside vaccinating cattle in his 30s, an experience that connected him with broad swaths of his nation.