Politics of Liberia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic modeled on the government of the United States, whereby the President is the head of state and head of government; unlike the United States, however, Liberia is a unitary state as opposed to a federation and has a pluriform multi-party system rather than the two-party system that characterizes US politics. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the legislature.
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 National Patriotic Party (NPP) is a political party in Liberia. It was formed in 1997 by members of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia following the end of the First Liberian Civil War.
George Manneh Oppong Weah is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer currently serving as the 25th President of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County. During his football career, he played as a striker. His prolific 18-year professional playing career ended in 2003.
The 2005 Liberian general election was held on 11 October 2005, with a runoff election for the presidency held on 8 November of that year. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and Senate were up for election. The election marked the end of the political transition following Liberia's second civil war and had been stipulated in the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003. 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 First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1997. The conflict killed about 250,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and of the United Nations. The peace did not last long, and in 1999 the Second Liberian Civil War broke out.
The All Liberia Coalition Party (ALCOP) is a political party in Liberia. In the last elections held on 19 July 1997, the ALCOP presidential candidate Alhaji G.V. Kromah won 4.02% of the vote. The party won 3 of 64 seats in the House of Representatives and 2 of 26 in the Senate. While international observers deemed the polls administratively free and transparent, they noted that it had taken place in an atmosphere of intimidation because most voters believed that former rebel leader and National Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Charles Taylor would return to war if defeated.
The Liberian Action Party was a political party in Liberia.
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".
The National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL) is a political party in Liberia.
Winston A. Tubman is a Liberian diplomat and politician of Americo-Liberian descent. He is a former justice minister and diplomat for the nation, as well as having been the standard bearer of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC).
Charles Walker Brumskine is a Liberian politician and attorney. He is 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 is also the senior partner of Brumskine & Associates, a leading Liberian law firm.
Milton Nathaniel Barnes is a Liberian politician and member of the Liberian Destiny Party (LDP).
Dr. Rev. Margaret Tor-Thompson was a Liberian politician and member of the Freedom Alliance Party of Liberia (FAPL). She has completed her doctorate in Biblical Studies.
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).
The National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) was Liberia's legislative body during the country's transition from civil war to democratic rule.
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.
