President of Liberia
President of the Republic of Liberia | |
---|---|
Style | Mr. President (Informal) His Excellency (Formal) |
Residence | Executive Mansion |
Term length | Six years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | Joseph Jenkins Roberts January 3, 1848 |
Formation | Constitution of Liberia July 26, 1847 |
Deputy | Vice President of Liberia |
Salary | US$90,000 annually |
Website | www |
The President of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.
The current President is Joseph Boakai since January 22, 2024.
History
[change | change source]Between 1847 and 1980, the presidency was exclusively held by Americo-Liberians, the original American settlers of Liberia and their descendants. The original two-party system, with the Republican Party and the True Whig Party, ended in 1878, when the election of Anthony W. Gardiner marked the beginning of 102 years of single-party rule by the True Whigs.
Under the 1986 Constitution, the president is directly elected by eligible voters to a six-year term, which may be renewed once. Overall, 22 individuals have served as president. On January 22, 2018, George Weah was sworn in as the twenty-fifth and current president.
Terms
[change | change source]Under the original 1847 Constitution, the president was elected to a two-year term, which was increased to four years on May 7, 1907.[1] Under this amendment, a new president would serve for eight years and could be re-elected to unlimited four-year terms.
Currently, the president is elected by popular vote to a six-year term and is limited to two terms.
Eligibility
[change | change source]To be eligible for office under the current Constitution, a presidential candidate must:
- be a natural born citizen of Liberia (per Art, 27(b) of the Constitution, citizenship is limited to "persons who are Negroes or of Negro descent");
- be at least thirty-five years old;
- own real property valued at least $25,000;
- have resided in Liberia for at least ten years.
List of presidents of Liberia
[change | change source]N | Portrait | President (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | ||||||
1 | Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1809–1876) |
January 3, 1848 | January 7, 1856 | Independent | |||
2 | Nathaniel Brander
(1796–1870) |
January 7, 1849 | January 7, 1849 | Independent | |||
(1) | Joseph Jenkins Roberts
(1809–1876) |
January 7, 1849 | January 7, 1853 | Independent | |||
3 | Anthony D. Williams
(1799–1860 ) |
January 7, 1853 | January 7, 1853 | Independent | |||
(1) | Joseph Jenkins Roberts
(1809–1876) |
January 7, 1853 | January 7, 1853 | Independent | |||
4 | Anthony D. Williams
(1799–1860 ) |
January 7, 1853 | January 7, 1853 | Independent | |||
(1) | Joseph Jenkins Roberts
(1809–1876) |
January 7, 1853 | January 7, 1856 | Independent | |||
5 | Stephen Allen Benson (1816–1865) |
January 7, 1856 | January 4, 1864 | Independent | |||
6 | Daniel Bashiel Warner (1815–1880) |
January 4, 1864 | January 6, 1868 | Republican Party | |||
7 | James Spriggs Payne (1819–1882) |
January 6, 1868 | January 3, 1870 | Republican Party | |||
8 | Edward James Roye (1815–1872) |
January 3, 1870 | October 26 , 1871 (Deposed) |
True Whig Party | |||
9 | Charles Benedict Dunbar (1831 —1878) | October 26 , 1871 | November 15,1871 | Independent | |||
10 | Reginald Sherman
( 1838 — 1894) |
November 15,1871 | November 20,1871 | Independent | |||
11 | Amos Herring
(1794 — 1890) |
November 20,1871 | November 27,1871 | Independent | |||
12 | James Skivring Smith (1825–1892) |
November 27,1871 | January 1, 1872 | True Whig Party | |||
(1) | Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1809–1876) |
January 1, 1872 | January 3, 1876 (Died) |
Republican Party | |||
(8) | James Spriggs Payne (1819–1882) |
January 3, 1876 | January 7, 1878 | Republican Party | |||
13 | Anthony W. Gardiner (1820–1885) |
January 7, 1878 | January 20, 1883 (Resigned) |
True Whig Party | |||
14 | Alfred Francis Russell (1817–1884) |
January 20, 1883 | January 7, 1884 | ||||
15 | Hilary R. W. Johnson (1837–1901) |
January 7, 1884 | January 4, 1892 | True Whig Party | |||
16 | Joseph James Cheeseman (1843–1896) |
January 4, 1892 | November 12, 1896 (Died) |
True Whig Party | |||
17 | William D. Coleman (1842–1908) |
November 12, 1896 | December 11, 1900 | ||||
18 | Garretson W. Gibson (1832–1910) |
December 11, 1900 | |||||
19 | Arthur Barclay (1854–1938) |
Joseph D. Summerville | January 4, 1904 | January 1, 1912 | |||
20 | Daniel Edward Howard (1861–1935) |
January 1, 1912 | January 5, 1920 | True Whig Party | |||
21 | Charles D. B. King (1875–1961) |
January 5, 1920 | December 3, 1930 (Resigned) |
True Whig Party | |||
22 | Edwin Barclay (1882–1955) |
December 3, 1930 | January 3, 1944 | ||||
23 | William Tubman (1895–1971) |
January 3, 1944 | July 23, 1971 (Died) |
True Whig Party | |||
24 | William Tolbert (1913–1980) |
July 23, 1971 | April 12, 1980 (Assassinated) | ||||
- | Samuel Doe (1951–1990) |
Chairman of the People's Redemption Council April 12, 1980 – January 6, 1986 |
Military / National Democratic Party |
||||
25 | January 6, 1986 | September 9, 1990 (Assassinated) |
1985 | ||||
26 | Prince Johnson (b. 1952) | September 9, 1990 | November 1 , 1990 | MilitaryConflicting claims | |||
27 | Charles Taylor (b. 1948) | November 1 , 1990 | November 7 , 1990 | MilitaryConflicting claims | |||
28 | David Nimley
(b. 1940) |
November 7 , 1990 | November 9 , 1990 | MilitaryConflicting claims | |||
29 | Amos Sawyer (born 1945) |
President of the Interim Government of National Unity of Liberia September 9, 1990 – March 7, 1994 |
Liberian People's Party | ||||
30 | David D. Kpormakpor (1935–2010) |
Chairman of the Council of State of Liberia March 7, 1994 – September 1, 1995 |
Independent | ||||
31 | Wilton G. S. Sankawulo (1937–2009) |
Chairman of the Council of State of Liberia September 1, 1995 – September 3, 1996 |
Independent | ||||
32 | Ruth Perry (1939–2017) |
Chairman of the Council of State of Liberia September 3, 1996 – August 2, 1997 |
Independent | ||||
(27) | Charles Taylor (1948–) |
August 2, 1997 | August 11, 2003 (Resigned) |
National Patriotic Party | |||
33 | Moses Blah (1947–2013) |
August 11, 2003 | October 14, 2003 (Resigned) |
National Patriotic Party | |||
34 | Gyude Bryant (1949–2014) |
Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia October 14, 2003 – January 16, 2006 |
Liberian Action Party | ||||
35 | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (1938–) |
January 16, 2006 | January 22, 2018 | Unity Party | |||
36 | George Weah (1966–) |
January 22, 2018 | Incumbent | Congress for Democratic Change |
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Starr, Frederick (1913). Liberia: Description, History, Problems. Chicago. p. 256. ISBN 9780598450234.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Other websites
[change | change source]- Enno Schulz, "Presidents of Liberia Archived 2006-06-15 at the Wayback Machine.