Vice President of Liberia

Vice President of the Republic of Liberia
Coat of arms of Liberia
Incumbent Joseph Boakai since January 16, 2006
Style	Mr. Vice President (Informal) His Excellency (Formal)
Term length	Six years
Inaugural holder	Nathaniel Brander
Formation	Constitution of Liberia July 26, 1847
Website	http://www.emansion.gov.lr/

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, which he or she holds 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 Joseph Boakai, serving under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He began his term on January 16, 2006.

Qualifications

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:

• be a natural born citizen of Liberia;
• be at least thirty-five years old;
• own real property valued at least $25,000;
• have resided in Liberia for at least ten years.

Additionally, the vice president may not reside in the same county as the president.

Succession

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 his or her 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 R. Tolbert, Jr., 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.

Vice Presidents

Parties

      Nonpartisan       Republican Party       True Whig Party       National Democratic Party       National Patriotic Party       Unity Party

No.	Vice President (Birth–Death)		Period of office		Party	Term (Election)	President		Notes
1		Nathaniel Brander (1796–?)	January 3, 1848	January 7, 1850	Independent	1. (1847)		Roberts
2		Anthony D. Williams (1799–1860)	January 7, 1850	January 2, 1854	Independent	2. (1849)
						3. (1851)
3		Stephen Allen Benson (1816–1865)	January 2, 1854	January 7, 1856	Independent	4. (1853)
4		Beverly Page Yates (1811–1883)	January 7, 1856	January 2, 1860	Independent	5. (1855)		Benson
						6. (1857)
5		Daniel Bashiel Warner (1815–1880)	January 2, 1860	January 4, 1864	Independent	7. (1859)
						8. (1861)
6		James M. Priest (?–1883)	January 4, 1864	January 6, 1868	Republican Party	9. (1863)		Warner
						10. (1865)
7		Joseph Gibson (?–?)	January 6, 1868	January 3, 1870	Republican Party	11. (1867)		Payne
8		James Skivring Smith (1825–1884)	January 3, 1870	October 26, 1871 (Ascended)	True Whig Party	12. (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	Republican Party	13. (1871)		Roberts
						14. (1873)
10		Charles Harmon (1832–?)	January 3, 1876	January 7, 1878	Republican Party	15. (1875)		Payne	[note 2]
11		Alfred Francis Russell (1817–1884)	January 7, 1878	January 20, 1883 (Ascended)	True Whig Party	16. (1877)		Gardiner	[note 3]
						17. (1879)
						18. (1881)
Vacancy by ascension			January 20, 1883	January 7, 1884				Russell
12		James Thompson (?–?)	January 7, 1884	January 4, 1892	True Whig Party	19. (1883)		Johnson
						20. (1885)
						21. (1887)
						22. (1889)
13		William D. Coleman (1842–1908)	January 4, 1892	November 12, 1896 (Ascended)	True Whig Party	23. (1891)		Cheeseman	[note 4]
						24. (1893)
						25. (1895)
Vacancy by ascension			November 12, 1896	January 3, 1898				Coleman
14		Joseph J. Ross (1842–1899)	January 3, 1898	24 October 1899 (Died)	True Whig Party	26. (1897)			[note 5]
						27. (1899)
Vacancy by death			October 24, 1899	January 6, 1902
								Gibson
15		Joseph D. Summerville (1860–1905)	January 6, 1902	July 27, 1905 (Died)	True Whig Party	28. (1901)			[note 6]
						29. (1903)		A. Barclay
Vacancy by death			July 27, 1905	January 1, 1906
16		James Jenkins Dossen (1866–1924)	January 1, 1906	January 1, 1912	True Whig Party	30. (1905)
						31. (1907)
17		Samuel George Harmon (?–?)	January 1, 1912	January 5, 1920	True Whig Party	32. (1911)		Howard
						33. (1915)
18		Samuel Alfred Ross (1870–1929)	January 5, 1920	January 1, 1924	True Whig Party	34. (1919)		King
19		Henry Too Wesley (?–?)	January 1, 1924	January 2, 1928	True Whig Party	35. (1923)
20		Allen Yancy (1881–1941)	January 2, 1928	December 3, 1930 (Resigned)	True Whig Party	36. (1927)			[note 7]
Vacancy by resignation			December 3, 1930	1930				E. Barclay
21		James Skivring Smith, Jr. (?–1950)	1930	January 3, 1944	True Whig Party
						37. (1931)
						38. (1939)
22		Clarence Lorenzo Simpson (1896–1969)	January 3, 1944	January 1, 1952	True Whig Party	39. (1943)		Tubman
23		William R. Tolbert, Jr. (1913–1980)	January 1, 1952	July 23, 1971 (Ascended)	True Whig Party	40. (1951)
						41. (1955)
						42. (1959)
						43. (1963)
						44. (1967)
Vacancy by ascension			July 23, 1971	April 1972		45. (1971)		Tolbert	[note 8]
24		James Edward Greene (1914–1977)	April 1972	July 22, 1977 (Died)	True Whig Party
						46. (1975)
Vacancy by death			July 22, 1977	October 31, 1977
25		Bennie Dee Warner (1935–)	October 31, 1977	April 12, 1980 (Forced from office)	True Whig Party				[note 9]
Vacancy due to coup d'etat			April 12, 1980	January 6, 1986					[note 10]
26		Harry Moniba (1937–2004)	January 6, 1986	September 9, 1990 (Forced from power)	National Democratic Party	47. (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 (Died)	National Patriotic Party	48. (1997)		Taylor
Vacancy by death			June 24, 2000	July 24, 2000
28		Moses Blah (1947–2013)	July 24, 2000	August 11, 2003	National Patriotic Party
Vacancy by ascension			August 11, 2003	October 3, 2003				Blah
Vacancy due to 2003 Accra Accord			October 3, 2003	January 16, 2006					[note 12]
29		Joseph Boakai (1944–)	January 16, 2006	Incumbent	Unity Party	49. (2005)		Sirleaf
						50. (2011)

See also

• Liberia
• President of Liberia
• Lists of incumbents
• List of current Vice Presidents

Notes

1. President Roye was forcibly removed from office on October 26, 1871. Vice President Smith was sworn in and served the remaining two months of Roye's presidency with no vice president.
2. On 1 January 1878, six days prior to the inauguration of Anthony Gardiner as president, the House of Representatives impeached and suspended President Payne from office. Vice President Harmon served as acting president for the final six days of the administration.^[1]
3. President Gardiner resigned from office after falling seriously ill. Vice President Russell served as president for the remaining year of Gardiner's term with no vice president.
4. President Cheeseman died in office. Vice President Coleman served as president for the remainder of Cheeseman's term with no vice president, and then was elected president in his own right in 1897 with Joseph J. Ross as his vice president.
5. Vice President Ross died in 1900, leaving President Coleman without a vice president. On December 11, 1900, Coleman resigned, and Secretary of State Gibson served as president for the remainder of Coleman's term without a vice president, before being elected in his own right in 1901 with Joseph D. Summerville as his vice president.
6. Vice President Summerville died in July 27, 1905 following his and President Gibson's reelection but prior to their inauguration. As no mechanism existed for replacing a vice president, which would have left Gibson without a vice president for his entire term, a constitutional amendment was ratified that year allowing for the president to call a special election in the absence of a vice president to fill the vacancy. J. J. Dossen won the special election in 1905 and was inaugurated along with Gibson in 1906.
7. Both President King and Vice President Yancy resigned on December 3, 1930. Secretary of State Barclay was inaugurated as president, and Vice President James Skivring Smith, Jr. was elected in a special election soon after.
8. President Tubman died following his and Tolbert's reelection in 1971, but prior to his inauguration. Tolbert served the remainder of Tubman's sixth term before being inaugurated for Tubman's elected seventh term.
9. Warner was ousted along with the rest of the government by the Armed Forces of Liberia.
10. During 1980-1981 Thomas Weh Syen was Doe's second-in-command in the military administration. Weh Syen was in charge on vice-presidential duties.^[2] After Weh Syen was executed on Doe's orders, he was replaced as Vice Head of State by J. Nicholas Podier.^[3]
11. Roland Diggs served as Vice President in the administration of Amos Sawyer from August 1990 to April 1991.^[4] He was succeeded in April 1991 by Peter Naigow,^[5] who also resigned. There were many Deputy Chairman of Council of State of Liberia 1993-1997, including Dorothy Musuleng-Cooper, Dexter Bah Tahyor, Isaac Mussah, Charles Taylor, G. V. Kromah, George E. S. Boley, Oscar Jaryee Quiah, Tamba Taylor and Victoria Refell.^[6]
12. During this time, the National Transitional Government of Liberia was in charge of government duties. Vice-Chairman Wesley Momo Johnson assumed the duties and powers of the office of vice-president during part of this period.

References

1. Sims, James L.; Seymour, George L.; Benjamin J. K. Anderson; James Fairhead (2003). African-American Exploration in West Africa: Four Nineteenth-Century Diaries. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 72. ISBN 0-253-34194-9.
3. "Weh-Syen Weeps?" The Monrovia Express 1981-08-12: 1/8.