President of Liberia

President of the Republic of Liberia
Presidential standard
Incumbent Joseph Boakai since January 22, 2024
Style	Mr. President (Informal) His Excellency (Formal)
Type	Head of state Head of government
Residence	Executive Mansion
Seat	Monrovia
Term length	Six years, renewable once
Constituting instrument	1847 Constitution of Liberia
Formation	July 26, 1847
First holder	Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Deputy	Vice President of Liberia
Salary	US$90,000 annually
Website	Official website

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.

Prior to the independence of Liberia in 1847, executive power in the Commonwealth of Liberia was held by the governor of Liberia, who was appointed by the American Colonization Society. The 1847 Constitution transferred the executive powers of the governorship to the presidency, which was largely modeled on the presidency of the United States.

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 one-party rule by the True Whigs. Following a coup d'état by disgruntled army NCOs and soldiers led by Samuel Doe in 1980, one-party rule of the True Whigs ended and the presidency was vacated until the election of Doe in the 1985 general election. After his overthrow and murder in 1990, the presidency was again vacated for seven years during the First Liberian Civil War and again for two years following the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.

Under the 1986 Constitution, the president is directly elected by eligible voters to a six-year term, which may be renewed once. Overall, 25 individuals have served as president, including Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first elected female head of state in Africa. On January 22, 2024, Joseph Boakai was sworn in as the twenty-sixth and current president of Liberia.

History

Following the establishment of the Commonwealth of Liberia in 1838, executive power was vested in the governor of Liberia, who was appointed and served at the pleasure of the American Colonization Society. The first governor, Thomas Buchanan, served from 1838 until his death in 1841. He was succeeded by Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first person of African descent to serve as governor of Liberia.

Upon independence in 1847, Roberts was elected as the first president of Liberia. The 1847 Constitution denied suffrage to the indigenous population by requiring voters to own real estate. As a result, the presidency was exclusively held by Americo-Liberians until 1980, when a military coup led by Samuel Doe, an ethnic Krahn, overthrew and murdered President William Tolbert.

The presidency was vacant from 1980 to 1986, with executive power held by Doe as the head of the People's Redemption Council. Doe was later elected president in the 1985 general election, making him the first president outside of the Americo-Liberian elite. Doe was later overthrown and murdered in 1990 following the commencement First Liberian Civil War, during which the presidency remained vacant.

Following the 1997 general election, Charles Taylor held the presidency until his resignation on August 11, 2003, as part of a peace deal to end the Second Liberian Civil War. His successor, Moses Blah, ceded executive power on October 13 of that year to Gyude Bryant, the chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia. The presidency was resumed on January 16, 2006, following the 2005 election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the first female president.

George Weah was elected in 2017 as the 25th president of Liberia. Incumbent president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf signed Executive Order No. 91, thus establishing a Joint Presidential Transition Team, due to the fact that Liberia had "not experienced the transfer of power from one democratically elected president to another democratically elected president for over 70 years".

Powers and duties

The presidency of Liberia is largely modeled on the presidency of the United States.

Executive functions

The 1986 Constitution gives the president the power to appoint all cabinet ministers, judges, ambassadors, sheriffs, county officials and military officers with the advice and consent of the Senate. Additionally, the president has the power to dismiss all appointees from office at his or her discretion. The president may also grant pardons or revoke sentences and fines. The president conducts all matters of foreign policy, though any treaties or international agreements must be ratified by both houses of the Legislature. Furthermore, the president serves as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.

The Constitution also grants the president the power to declare a state of emergency during times of war or civil unrest and suspend civil liberties during the emergency as necessary, with the exception of habeas corpus. Within seven days of the declaration, the president must state to the Legislature the reasons for the declaration, which both houses must then approve by a two-thirds majority. Otherwise, the president must repeal the state of emergency.

Legislative functions

The president must sign all legislation passed by the House of Representatives and Senate. The president may choose to veto any legislation, which may be overturned by a two-thirds majority in both houses. Additionally, the president may exercise a pocket veto by refusing to sign legislation when the end of the twenty-day deadline for signing the bill falls during a recess of the legislature. The president may extend a legislative session past its adjournment date or call a special extraordinary session when deemed necessary for the national interest. The president must also give an annual report to the legislature on the state of the country.

Eligibility

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.

Additionally, the president may not be from the same county as the vice president of Liberia.

Term and election

Under the original 1847 Constitution, the president was elected to a two-year term, which was increased to four years on May 7, 1907. Under this amendment, a new president would serve for eight years and could be re-elected to unlimited four-year terms. During the presidency of William Tolbert, the Constitution was amended to restrict the president to a single eight-year term; by 1976, voices in the legislature were being raised in favor of returning to the previous system, but Tolbert proclaimed his support for the existing system and vowed to veto any constitutional amendments to remove term limits.

Currently, the president is elected by popular vote to a six-year term and is limited to two terms. Under the 1986 Constitution, presidential elections utilize a two-round system, wherein a second round of voting is held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes if no single candidate obtains a majority in the first round. Each term begins and ends at noon on the third working Monday in January of the year immediately following the elections. At the time of their inauguration, each president is required under the Constitution to take a presidential oath promising to preserve and defend the Constitution and faithfully execute the law. The oath is administered by the chief justice of Liberia in front of a joint session of the legislature.

Residence

Main article: Executive Mansion, Monrovia

In 2006, the Executive Mansion was under renovations due to a fire that damaged parts of the building in July of that year. The office of the president was transferred to the nearby Foreign Ministry building as a result. On 14 February 2022, the Executive Mansion was reopened.

List of officeholders

Political parties

  Republican Party

  True Whig Party

  National Democratic Party

  Liberian People's Party

  National Patriotic Party

  Liberian Action Party

  Unity Party

  Congress for Democratic Change

Other factions

  Military

  Independent

Symbols

^† Died in office

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Elected	Vice President
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1809–1876)	January 3, 1848	January 7, 1856	8 years, 4 days	Independent	1847		Nathaniel Brander
							1849		Anthony D. Williams
							1851
							1853		Stephen Allen Benson
2		Stephen Allen Benson (1816–1865)	January 7, 1856	January 4, 1864	7 years, 362 days	Independent	1855		Beverly Page Yates
							1857
							1859		Daniel Bashiel Warner
							1861
3		Daniel Bashiel Warner (1815–1880)	January 4, 1864	January 6, 1868	4 years, 2 days	Republican Party	1863		James M. Priest
							1865
4		James Spriggs Payne (1819–1882)	January 6, 1868	January 3, 1870	1 year, 362 days	Republican Party	1867		Joseph Gibson
5		Edward James Roye (1815–1872)	January 3, 1870	October 26, 1871 (Deposed)	1 year, 296 days	True Whig Party	1869		James Skivring Smith
—		Chief Executive Committee Members: Reginald A. Sherman, Charles Benedict Dunbar, Amos Herring October 26, 1871 – November 4, 1871			9 days		—	Vacant (October 26, 1871 – January 1, 1872)
6		James Skivring Smith (1825–1892)	November 4, 1871	January 1, 1872	58 days	True Whig Party	—
7		Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1809–1876)	January 1, 1872	January 3, 1876	4 years, 2 days	Republican Party	1871		Anthony W. Gardiner
							1873
8		James Spriggs Payne (1819–1882)	January 3, 1876	January 7, 1878	2 years, 4 days	Republican Party	1875		Charles Harmon
9		Anthony W. Gardiner (1820–1885)	January 7, 1878	January 20, 1883 (Resigned)	5 years, 13 days	True Whig Party	1877		Alfred Francis Russell
							1879
							1881
10		Alfred Francis Russell (1817–1884)	January 20, 1883	January 7, 1884	352 days	True Whig Party		Vacant (January 20, 1883 – January 7, 1884)
11		Hilary R. W. Johnson (1837–1901)	January 7, 1884	January 4, 1892	7 years, 362 days	True Whig Party	1883		James Thompson
							1885
							1887
							1889
12		Joseph James Cheeseman (1843–1896)	January 4, 1892	November 12, 1896[†]	4 years, 313 days	True Whig Party	1891		William D. Coleman
							1893
							1895
13		William D. Coleman (1842–1908)	November 12, 1896	December 11, 1900	4 years, 29 days	True Whig Party		Vacant (November 12, 1896 – January 3, 1898)
							1897		Joseph J. Ross
							1899
								Vacant (October 24, 1899 – January 3, 1902)
14		Garretson W. Gibson (1832–1910)	December 11, 1900	January 4, 1904	3 years, 24 days	True Whig Party
							1901		Joseph D. Summerville
15		Arthur Barclay (1854–1938)	January 4, 1904	January 1, 1912	7 years, 362 days	True Whig Party	1903
								Vacant (July 27, 1905 – January 1, 1906)
							1905		J. J. Dossen
							1907
16		Daniel Edward Howard (1861–1935)	January 1, 1912	January 5, 1920	8 years, 4 days	True Whig Party	1911		Samuel George Harmon
							1915
17		Charles D. B. King (1875–1961)	January 5, 1920	December 3, 1930 (Resigned)	10 years, 332 days	True Whig Party	1919		Samuel Alfred Ross
							1923		Henry Too Wesley
							1927		Allen Yancy
18		Edwin Barclay (1882–1955)	December 3, 1930	January 3, 1944	13 years, 31 days	True Whig Party			James Skivring Smith Jr.
							1931
							1939
19		William Tubman (1895–1971)	January 3, 1944	July 23, 1971[†]	27 years, 201 days	True Whig Party	1943		Clarence Lorenzo Simpson
							1951		William Tolbert
							1955
							1959
							1963
							1967
							1971
20		William Tolbert (1913–1980)	July 23, 1971	April 12, 1980 (Assassinated)	8 years, 264 days	True Whig Party		Vacant (July 23, 1971 – April 1972)
									James Edward Greene
							1975
								Vacant (July 22, 1977 – October 31, 1977)
									Bennie Dee Warner
—		Samuel Doe (1951–1990)	Chairman of the People's Redemption Council April 12, 1980 – January 6, 1986		10 years, 150 days	Military / National Democratic Party
21			January 6, 1986	September 9, 1990 (Assassinated)			1985		Harry Moniba
—		Amos Sawyer (1945–2022)	President of the Interim Government of National Unity September 9, 1990 – March 7, 1994		3 years, 179 days	Liberian People's Party
—		David D. Kpormakpor (1935–2010)	Chairman of the Council of State March 7, 1994 – September 1, 1995		1 year, 178 days	Independent
—		Wilton G. S. Sankawulo (1937–2009)	Chairman of the Council of State September 1, 1995 – September 3, 1996		1 year, 2 days	Independent
—		Ruth Perry (1939–2017)	Chairman of the Council of State September 3, 1996 – August 2, 1997		333 days	Independent
22		Charles Taylor (born 1948)	August 2, 1997	August 11, 2003 (Resigned)	6 years, 9 days	National Patriotic Party	1997		Enoch Dogolea
								Vacant (June 24, 2000 – July 24, 2000)
									Moses Blah
23		Moses Blah (1947–2013)	August 11, 2003	October 14, 2003 (Resigned)	64 days	National Patriotic Party		Vacant (August 11, 2003 – October 14, 2003)
—		Gyude Bryant (1949–2014)	Chairman of the Transitional Government October 14, 2003 – January 16, 2006		2 years, 94 days	Liberian Action Party
24		Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born 1938)	January 16, 2006	January 22, 2018	12 years, 6 days	Unity Party	2005		Joseph Boakai
							2011
25		George Weah (born 1966)	January 22, 2018	January 22, 2024	6 years	Congress for Democratic Change	2017		Jewel Taylor
26		Joseph Boakai (born 1944)	January 22, 2024	Incumbent	288 days	Unity Party	2023		Jeremiah Koung

Timeline

See also

• Lists of office-holders
• List of current heads of state and government

History:

• Agents and governors of Liberia

References

• Enno Schulz, "Presidents of Liberia.