President of Liberia

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.

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.

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.

Parties

  None   Republican Party   True Whig Party   National Democratic Party   National Patriotic Party   Unity Party   Congress for Democratic Change

#	President		Took office	Left office	Party	Vice President(s)
1	Joseph Jenkins Roberts		January 3, 1848	January 7, 1856	none (Republican Party)	Stephen Allen Benson
2	Stephen Allen Benson		January 7, 1856	January 4, 1864	none (Republican policies)	Beverley Yates
3	Daniel Bashiel Warner		January 4, 1864	January 6, 1868	Republican Party	James M. Priest
4	James Spriggs Payne		January 6, 1868	January 3, 1870	Republican Party	Vacant
5	Edward James Roye		January 3, 1870	October 26, 1871[A]	True Whig Party	James Skivring Smith
6	James Skivring Smith[2]		November 4, 1871	January 1, 1872	True Whig Party	Anthony W. Gardiner
7	Joseph Jenkins Roberts (2nd term)		January 1, 1872	January 3, 1876	Republican Party	Anthony W. Gardiner
8	James Spriggs Payne (2nd term)		January 3, 1876	January 7, 1878	Republican Party	Vacant
9	Anthony W. Gardiner		January 7, 1878	January 20, 1883[R]	True Whig Party	Alfred Francis Russell
10	Alfred Francis Russell		January 20, 1883	January 7, 1884	True Whig Party	Vacant
11	Hilary R. W. Johnson		January 7, 1884	January 4, 1892	True Whig Party	Vacant
12	Joseph James Cheeseman		January 4, 1892	November 12, 1896[D]	True Whig Party	William D. Coleman
13	William D. Coleman		November 12, 1896	December 11, 1900[R]	True Whig Party	J. J. Ross
14	Garreston W. Gibson		December 11, 1900	January 4, 1904	True Whig Party	Vacant
15	Arthur Barclay		January 4, 1904	January 1, 1912	True Whig Party	J. J. Dossen
16	Daniel Edward Howard		January 1, 1912	January 5, 1920	True Whig Party	Vacant
17	Charles D. B. King		January 5, 1920	December 3, 1930[R]	True Whig Party	Samuel Alfred Ross Henry Too Wesley Allen Yancy
18	Edwin Barclay		December 3, 1930	January 3, 1944	True Whig Party	Vacant
19	William Tubman		January 3, 1944	July 23, 1971[D]	True Whig Party	Clarence Lorenzo Simpson William R. Tolbert, Jr.
20	William R. Tolbert, Jr.		July 23, 1971	April 12, 1980[A]	True Whig Party	James Edward Greene Bennie Dee Warner
21	Samuel Doe[3]		January 6, 1986	September 9, 1990[A]	National Democratic Party of Liberia	Harry Moniba
22	Charles Taylor		August 2, 1997	August 11, 2003[R]	National Patriotic Party	Enoch Dogolea Moses Blah
23	Moses Blah		August 11, 2003	October 14, 2003[R]	National Patriotic Party	Vacant
24	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf		January 16, 2006	January 22, 2018	Unity Party	Joseph Boakai
25	George Weah		January 22, 2018	January 22, 2024	Congress for Democratic Change	Jewel Taylor
26	Joseph Boakai		January 22, 2024	Incumbent	Unity Party	Jeremiah Koung

• Left office early:

^[A] Assassinated in a coup d'etat.

^[D] Died in office of natural causes.

^[R] Resigned.

Parties

  None   National Democratic Party   Liberian People's Party   Liberian Action Party

President		Position	Took office	Left office	Party
Samuel K. Doe		Head of People's Redemption Council	April 12, 1980	January 6, 1986	National Democratic Party of Liberia
Dr. Amos Sawyer		President of the Interim Government of National Unity	November 22, 1990	March 7, 1994	Liberian People's Party
David D. Kpormakpor		Chairman of the Council of State	March 7, 1994	September 1, 1995	None
Wilton G. S. Sankawulo		Chairman of the Council of State	September 1, 1995	September 3, 1996	None
Ruth Perry		Chairwoman of the Council of State	September 3, 1996	August 2, 1997	None
Gyude Bryant		Chairman of the National Transitional Government	October 14, 2003	January 16, 2006	Liberian Action Party

• Enno Schulz, "Presidents of Liberia Archived 2006-06-15 at the Wayback Machine.