Vice President of the Republic of Liberia | |
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Style | Mr. Vice President (Informal) His Excellency (Formal) |
Term length | Six years |
Inaugural holder | Nathaniel Brander January 3, 1848 |
Formation | 1847 Constitution of Liberia July 26, 1847 |
Website | www |
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The vice president of the Republic of Liberia is the second-highest executive official in Liberia, and one of only two elected executive offices along with the president. The vice president is elected on the same ticket with the president to a six-year term. In the event of the death, resignation or removal of the president, the vice president ascends to the presidency, and holds the position for the remainder of their predecessor's term. The vice president also serves as the president of the Senate and may cast a vote in the event of a tie. The current vice president is Jeremiah Koung, serving under president Joseph Boakai. He began his term on January 22, 2024.
Article 52 of the Constitution lays out the qualifications for candidates for vice president. To be eligible for office under the current Constitution, a vice presidential candidate must:
Additionally, the vice president may not reside in the same county as the president.
Under Article 63(b), the vice president ascends to the presidency in the event of president's death, resignation, impeachment, or when the president is declared incapable of carrying out the duties of the office. In the event of ascension, the vice president serves as president for the remainder of their predecessor's term, though this period is not considered a term for the purposes of term limits to the presidency. According to Article 63(a), should the president-elect die or become otherwise incapacitated before his or her inauguration, the vice president-elect is sworn in as president in their place, though a term of this nature does constitute a term for the purposes of determining term limits.
To date, five vice presidents have ascended to the presidency, either due to the president's death, resignation, or removal from office: James Skivring Smith, Alfred Francis Russell, William D. Coleman, William Tolbert, and Moses Blah.
There have been twelve vacancies in the office, the first of which occurred between October 26, 1871 and January 1, 1872; after the ascension of James Skivring Smith to the office of president. The most recent vacancy was between August 11, 2003 and January 16, 2006; after the ascension of Moses Blah to the office of president and prior to the election of Joseph Boakai.
† Died in office
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Political party | Elected | President | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
1 | ![]() | Nathaniel Brander (1796–?) | January 3, 1848 | January 7, 1850 | 2 years, 4 days | Independent | 1847 | Roberts | ||
2 | ![]() | Anthony D. Williams (1799–1860) | January 7, 1850 | January 2, 1854 | 3 years, 360 days | Independent | 1849 | |||
1851 | ||||||||||
3 | ![]() | Stephen Allen Benson (1816–1865) | January 2, 1854 | January 7, 1856 | 2 years, 5 days | Independent | 1853 | |||
4 | ![]() | Beverly Page Yates (1811–1883) | January 7, 1856 | January 2, 1860 | 3 years, 360 days | Independent | 1855 | Benson | ||
1857 | ||||||||||
5 | ![]() | Daniel Bashiel Warner (1815–1880) | January 2, 1860 | January 4, 1864 | 4 years, 2 days | Independent | 1859 | |||
1861 | ||||||||||
6 | ![]() | James M. Priest (1819–1883) | January 4, 1864 | January 6, 1868 | 4 years, 2 days | Republican Party | 1863 | Warner | ||
1865 | ||||||||||
7 | ![]() | Joseph Gibson (1823–1886) | January 6, 1868 | January 3, 1870 | 1 year, 362 days | Republican Party | 1867 | Payne | ||
8 | ![]() | James Skivring Smith (1825–1884) | January 3, 1870 | October 26, 1871 ( Ascended ) | 1 year, 296 days | True Whig Party | 1869 | Roye | [note 1] | |
Vacancy by ascension | October 26, 1871 | January 1, 1872 | Smith | |||||||
9 | ![]() | Anthony W. Gardiner (1820–1885) | January 1, 1872 | January 3, 1876 | 4 years, 2 days | Republican Party | 1871 | Roberts | ||
1873 | ||||||||||
10 | ![]() | Charles Harmon (1832–1886) | January 3, 1876 | January 7, 1878 | 2 years, 4 days | Republican Party | 1875 | Payne | [note 2] | |
11 | ![]() | Alfred Francis Russell (1817–1884) | January 7, 1878 | January 20, 1883 (Ascended) | 5 years, 13 days | True Whig Party | 1877 | Gardiner | [note 3] | |
1879 | ||||||||||
1881 | ||||||||||
Vacancy by ascension | January 20, 1883 | January 7, 1884 | Russell | |||||||
12 | ![]() | James Thompson (?–?) | January 7, 1884 | January 4, 1892 | 7 years, 362 days | True Whig Party | 1883 | Johnson | ||
1885 | ||||||||||
1887 | ||||||||||
1889 | ||||||||||
13 | ![]() | William D. Coleman (1842–1908) | January 4, 1892 | November 12, 1896 (Ascended) | 4 years, 313 days | True Whig Party | 1891 | Cheeseman | [note 4] | |
1893 | ||||||||||
1895 | ||||||||||
Vacancy by ascension | November 12, 1896 | January 3, 1898 | Coleman | |||||||
14 | ![]() | Joseph J. Ross (1842–1899) | January 3, 1898 | October 24, 1899 [†] | 1 year, 294 days | True Whig Party | 1897 | [note 5] | ||
1899 | ||||||||||
Vacancy by death | October 24, 1899 | January 6, 1902 | ||||||||
Gibson | ||||||||||
15 | ![]() | Joseph D. Summerville (1860–1905) | January 6, 1902 | July 27, 1905 [†] | 3 years, 202 days | True Whig Party | 1901 | [note 6] | ||
1903 | A. Barclay | |||||||||
Vacancy by death | July 27, 1905 | January 1, 1906 | ||||||||
16 | ![]() | James Jenkins Dossen (1866–1924) | January 1, 1906 | January 1, 1912 | 6 years | True Whig Party | 1905 | |||
1907 | ||||||||||
17 | ![]() | Samuel George Harmon (1861–1925) | January 1, 1912 | January 5, 1920 | 8 years, 4 days | True Whig Party | 1911 | Howard | ||
1915 | ||||||||||
18 | ![]() | Samuel Alfred Ross (1870–1929) | January 5, 1920 | January 1, 1924 | 3 years, 361 days | True Whig Party | 1919 | King | ||
19 | ![]() | Henry Too Wesley (1877–1944) | January 1, 1924 | January 2, 1928 | 4 years, 1 day | True Whig Party | 1923 | |||
20 | ![]() | Allen Yancy (1881–1941) | January 2, 1928 | December 3, 1930 (Resigned) | 2 years, 335 days | True Whig Party | 1927 | [note 7] | ||
Vacancy by resignation | December 3, 1930 | 1930 | E. Barclay | |||||||
21 | ![]() | James Skivring Smith Jr. (1891–1950) | 1930 | January 3, 1944 | 13–14 years | True Whig Party | ||||
1931 | ||||||||||
1939 | ||||||||||
22 | ![]() | Clarence Lorenzo Simpson (1896–1969) | January 3, 1944 | January 1, 1952 | 7 years, 363 days | True Whig Party | 1943 | Tubman | ||
23 | | William Tolbert (1913–1980) | January 1, 1952 | July 23, 1971 (Ascended) | 19 years, 203 days | True Whig Party | 1951 | |||
1955 | ||||||||||
1959 | ||||||||||
1963 | ||||||||||
1967 | ||||||||||
Vacancy by ascension | July 23, 1971 | April 1972 | 1971 | Tolbert | [note 8] | |||||
24 | ![]() | James Edward Greene (1914–1977) | April 1972 | July 22, 1977 [†] | 5 years, 112 days | True Whig Party | ||||
1975 | ||||||||||
Vacancy by death | July 22, 1977 | October 31, 1977 | ||||||||
25 | ![]() | Bennie Dee Warner (born 1935) | October 31, 1977 | April 12, 1980 ( Deposed ) | 2 years, 164 days | True Whig Party | [note 9] | |||
Vacancy due to People's Redemption Council | April 12, 1980 | January 6, 1986 | [note 10] | |||||||
26 | ![]() | Harry Moniba (1937–2004) | January 6, 1986 | September 9, 1990 (Deposed) | 4 years, 246 days | National Democratic Party | 1985 | Doe | ||
Vacancy due to First Liberian Civil War | September 9, 1990 | August 2, 1997 | [note 11] | |||||||
27 | ![]() | Enoch Dogolea (1951–2000) | August 2, 1997 | June 24, 2000 [†] | 2 years, 327 days | National Patriotic Party | 1997 | Taylor | ||
Vacancy by death | June 24, 2000 | July 24, 2000 | ||||||||
28 | ![]() | Moses Blah (1947–2013) | July 24, 2000 | August 11, 2003 | 3 years, 18 days | National Patriotic Party | ||||
Vacancy by ascension | August 11, 2003 | October 3, 2003 | Blah | |||||||
Vacancy due to Accra Peace Agreement | October 3, 2003 | January 16, 2006 | [note 12] | |||||||
29 | ![]() | Joseph Boakai (born 1944) | January 16, 2006 | January 22, 2018 | 12 years, 6 days | Unity Party | 2005 | Sirleaf | ||
2011 | ||||||||||
30 | ![]() | Jewel Taylor (born 1963) | January 22, 2018 | January 22, 2024 | 6 years | National Patriotic Party | 2017 | Weah | ||
31 | ![]() | Jeremiah Koung (born 1978) | January 22, 2024 | Incumbent | 189 days | Unity Party | 2023 | Boakai |
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