HISTORY
Portuguese
explorers established contacts with Liberia as early as 1461 and
named the area Grain Coast because of the abundance of grains
of Malegueta Pepper. In 1663 the British installed trading posts
on the Grain Coast, but the Dutch destroyed these posts a year
later. There were no further reports of European settlements along
the Grain Coast until the arrival of freed slaves in the early
1800s.
Liberia,
which means "land of the free," was founded by freed
slaves from the United States in 1820. These freed slaves, called
Americo-Liberians, first arrived in Liberia and established a
settlement in Christopolis now Monrovia (named after U.S. President
James Monroe) on February 6, 1820. This group of 86 immigrants
formed the nucleus of the settler population of what became known
as the Republic of Liberia.
Thousands
of freed slaves from America soon arrived during the following
years, leading to the formation of more settlements and culminating
in a declaration of independence on July 26, 1847 of the Republic
of Liberia. The idea of resettling free slaves in Africa was nurtured
by the American Colonization Society (ACS), an organization that
governed the Commonwealth of Liberia until independence in 1847.
The new Republic of Liberia adopted American styles of life and
established thriving trade links with other West Africans.
The formation
of the Republic of Liberia was not an altogether easy task. The
settlers periodically encountered stiff opposition from African
tribes whom they met upon arrival, usually resulting in bloody
battles. On the other hand, the newly independent Liberia was
encroached upon by colonial expansionists who forcibly took over
much of the original territory of independent Liberia.
Liberia's
history until 1980 was largely peaceful. For 133 years after independence,
the Republic of Liberia was a one-party state ruled by the Americo-Liberian-dominated
True Whig Party (TWP). Joseph Jenkins Roberts, who was born and
raised in America, became Liberia's first President. The style
of government and constitution was fashioned on that of the United
States. The True Whig Party dominated all sectors of Liberia from
independence until April 12, 1980, when indigenous Liberian Master
Sergeant Samuel K. Doe--from the Krahn ethnic group--seized power
in a coup d'etat. Doe's forces executed President William R. Tolbert
and several officials of his government, mostly of Americo-Liberian
descent. As a result, 133 years of Americo-Liberian political
domination ended with the formation of the People's Redemption
Council (PRC).
Doe's
government increasingly adopted an ethnic outlook as members of
his Krahn ethnic group soon dominated political and military life
in Liberia. This caused a heightened level of ethnic tension,
leading to frequent hostilities between the politically and militarily
dominant Krahns and other ethnic groups in the country.
Political
parties remained banned until 1984. Elections were held on October
15, 1985, in which Doe's National Democratic Party of Liberia
(NDPL) was declared winner. The elections were characterized by
widespread fraud and rigging. The period after the elections saw
increased human rights abuses, corruption, and ethnic tensions.
The standard of living, which had been rising in the 1970s, declined
drastically. On November 12, 1985, former Army Commanding Gen.
Thomas Quiwonkpa invaded Liberia by way of neighboring Sierra
Leone and almost succeeded in toppling the government of Samuel
Doe. Members of the Krahn-dominated Armed Forces of Liberia repelled
Quiwonkpa's attack and executed him in Monrovia.
On December
24, 1989, a small band of rebels led by Doe's former procurement
chief, Charles Taylor, invaded Liberia from the Ivory Coast. Taylor
and his National Patriotic Front rebels rapidly gained the support
of Liberians because of the repressive nature of Samuel Doe and
his government. Barely 6 months after the rebels first attacked,
they had reached the outskirts of Monrovia.
The 1989-1996
Liberian civil war, which was one of Africa's bloodiest, claimed
the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and further displaced
a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened
and succeeded in preventing Charles Taylor from capturing Monrovia.
Prince Johnson--who had been a member of Taylor's National Patriotic
Front of Liberia (NPFL) but broke away because of policy differences--formed
the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). Johnson's
forces captured and killed Doe on September 9, 1990.
An Interim
Government of National Unity (IGNU) was formed in Gambia under
the auspices of ECOWAS in October 1990, and Dr. Amos C. Sawyer
became President. Taylor refused to work with the interim government
and continued fighting. By 1992, several warring factions had
emerged in the Liberian civil war, all of which were absorbed
in the new transitional government. After several peace accords
and declining military power, Taylor finally agreed to the formation
of a five-man transitional government.
After
considerable progress in negotiations conducted by the United
States, United Nations, Organization of African Unity (now the
African Union), and ECOWAS, disarmament and demobilization of
warring factions were hastily carried out. Special elections were
held on July 19, 1997, with Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic
Party emerging victorious. Taylor won the election by a large
majority, primarily because Liberians feared a return to war had
Taylor lost.
For the
next 6 years, the Taylor government did not improve the lives
of Liberians. Unemployment and illiteracy stood above 75%, and
little investment was made in the country's infrastructure. Liberia
is still trying to recover from the ravages of war; six years
after the war, pipe-borne water and electricity were still unavailable,
and schools, hospitals, roads, and infrastructure remained derelict.
Rather than work to improve the lives of Liberians, Taylor supported
the bloody Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone, fomenting
unrest and brutal excesses in the region, and leading to the resumption
of armed rebellion from among Taylor's former adversaries.
On June
4, 2003 in Accra, Ghana, ECOWAS facilitated the inauguration of
peace talks among the Government of Liberia, civil society, and
the rebel groups called “Liberians United for Reconciliation
and Democracy” (LURD) and “Movement for Democracy
in Liberia” (MODEL). LURD and MODEL largely represent elements
of the former ULIMO-K and ULIMO-J factions that fought Taylor
during Liberia’s previous civil war (1989-1996). Also on
June 4, 2003, the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra
Leone issued a press statement announcing the opening of a sealed
March 7 indictment of Liberian President Charles Taylor for “bearing
the greatest responsibility” for atrocities in Sierra Leone
since November 1996. By July 17, 2003 the Government of Liberia,
LURD, and MODEL signed a cease-fire that envisioned a comprehensive
peace agreement within 30 days. The three combatants subsequently
broke that cease-fire repeatedly, which resulted in bitter fighting
that eventually reached downtown Monrovia.
On August 11, 2003, under intense U.S. and international pressure, President Taylor resigned office and departed into exile in Nigeria. This move paved the way for the deployment by ECOWAS of what became a 3,600-strong peacekeeping mission in Liberia (ECOMIL). On August 18, leaders from the Liberian Government, the rebels, political parties, and civil society signed a comprehensive peace agreement that laid the framework for constructing a 2-year National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL), headed by businessman Gyude Bryant. The UN took over security in Liberia in October 2003, subsuming ECOMIL into the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), a force that grew to its present size of nearly 13,000 troops and 1,194 police officers.
The October 11, 2005 presidential and legislative elections and the subsequent November 8, 2005 presidential run-off were the most free, fair, and peaceful elections in Liberia's history. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf defeated international soccer star George Weah 59.4% to 40.6% to become Africa's first democratically elected female president. She was inaugurated in January 2006 and formed a government of technocrats drawn from among Liberia's ethnic groups and including members of the Liberian diaspora who had returned to the country to rebuild government institutions. The president's party, the Unity Party, does not control the legislature, in which 12 of the 30 registered political parties are represented.
The political situation has remained stable since the 2005 elections. The Government of Liberia has made positive strides aimed at political stability and economic recovery. President Sirleaf has taken a public stance against corruption and has dismissed several government officials. The President is supported by highly experienced and technically competent senior officials, and the public has more confidence in her administration than in any of its recent predecessors. President Sirleaf enjoys good relations with international organizations and donor governments, with whom she is working closely on Liberia's development. The national legislature has enacted several key reforms despite some delays caused by the need to gain consensus among the numerous parties represented.
In order to maintain stability through the post-conflict period, Liberia's security sector reform efforts have led to the disarmament of more than 100,000 ex-combatants, the wholesale U.S.-led reconstruction of the Armed Forces of Liberia, and a UN-led effort to overhaul the Liberian National Police. The mandate of UNMIL has been extended to September 2008 and a gradual drawdown will commence in 2008, to last several years. During this period the Government of Liberia and its development partners will focus on creating jobs, attracting investment, and providing education and other essential services to Liberia's communities.
