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.
George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, serving in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County. He played as a striker in his prolific 18-year professional football career, which ended in 2003. Weah is the first African former professional footballer to become a head of state.
General elections were held in Liberia on 11 October 2005, with a runoff election for the presidency held on 8 November. The presidency and all seats in the House of Representatives and Senate were up for election. The elections were the first held since 1997 and marked the end of the political transition following the second civil war, having been stipulated in the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2004. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former World Bank employee and Liberian finance minister, won the presidential contest and became the first democratically elected female African head of state in January 2006.
The Liberian People's Party (LPP) is a political party in Liberia.
The Unity Party (UP) is a political party in Liberia that was started in 1984 by Edward B. Kesselly, also its first standard bearer. Officially founded at Buchanan in Grand Bassa County, the party was established on 27 July 1985. The Unity Party participated in the first elections after the 1980 coup, running against President Samuel Doe in October 1985. The party has remained active in Liberian politics since and was, until 2017, the ruling party.
The United People's Party (UPP) is a political party in Liberia. It formed in the 1980s as a successor to the Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL) and the Progressive People's Party (PPP), but was initially banned under President Samuel Doe because of its "socialist leanings".
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
The Union of Liberian Democrats (ULD) is a political party in Liberia. It fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections.
The Liberty Party (LP) is a political party in Liberia. It first fielded candidates in the 2005 elections.
Charles Walker Brumskine was a Liberian politician and attorney. He was the leader of the Liberty Party and came third in the 2005 presidential election. He challenged incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for the Presidency in 2011. He was also the senior partner of Brumskine & Associates, a leading Liberian law firm.
The Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL) was a political coalition that was formed to contest the 2005 Liberian general election. Initially, COTOL consisted of the Liberian Action Party (LAP), Liberia Unification Party (LUP), People's Democratic Party of Liberia (PDPL), and the formerly dominant True Whig Party (TWP).
Joseph D. Z. Korto was a Liberian politician and member of the Liberia Equal Rights Party (LERP). Joseph Korto was born in Barpa, Nimba County, Liberia. He was Minister of Education in Liberia from 2006 to 2010 and was replaced by E. Othello Gongar, former Minister of Education during the regime of late president Samuel Kanyon Doe. He was also the executive director of the Liberian Development Foundation.
The People's Democratic Party of Liberia (PDPL) is a political party in Liberia. It participated in the 1997 elections and fielded candidates in the 11 October 2005 elections as part of the four-party Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL).
Jewel Cianeh Taylor is a Liberian politician who is currently serving as the 30th vice president of Liberia. She was married to convicted warlord and former president Charles Taylor and was First Lady of Liberia during his presidency. In 2005, Jewel Taylor was elected to the Senate of Liberia for Bong County as a member of the National Patriotic Party. She served as the Chairperson of the Senate Health and Social Welfare Committee on Gender, Women and Children.
A new civil war began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighboring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. By the spring of 2001, they were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic. By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting the latest addition to the lexicon of Liberian guerrilla outfits – Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting Sierra Leonean rebels, Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans.
General elections were held in Liberia on 11 October 2011, with a second round of the presidential election on 8 November. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the seats in the Senate, were up for election. The election was overseen by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
General elections were held in Liberia on 10 October 2017 to elect the President and House of Representatives. No candidate won a majority in the first round of the presidential vote, so the top two finishers – CDC standard-bearer Amb. George Weah and UP standard-bearer Vice President Joseph Boakai – competed in a run-off on 26 December. The second round was originally scheduled for 7 November, but was postponed after LP standard-bearer Cllr. Charles Brumskine, in third place, challenged the result in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, which would have forced a re-run of the first round had it been successful, and the second round was held on 26 December. Weah emerged victorious with 60% of the vote.
The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is a political alliance in Liberia.
Gbehzohngar Milton Findley is a Liberian politician and businessman. He is a former President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate and also the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the administration of President Weah until 28th July 2020.
General elections were held in Liberia on 10 October 2023 to elect the President, House of Representatives and half the Senate. Incumbent George Weah was eligible for a second term. Due to both major candidates not receiving a majority in the first round, a runoff will be held on 7 November 2023.
