Alex Jenekai Tyler (born 15 December 1963) is a

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

n politician who was

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

House of Representatives of Liberia The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia, and together with the Senate comprises the Legislature of Liberia. The number of seats is fixed by law at 73, with each county being apportioned a ...

from 2007 to 2016. He was first elected as the Representative for the 1st District of

Bomi County Bomi is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. The county was established in 1984. The county's area is . Bomi is one of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation ...

in 2005. Tyler is a member of the Unity Party, having joined in 2009 following its merger with his

Liberian Action Party The Liberian Action Party was a political party in Liberia. In the country's 1985 elections, LAP candidate Jackson Doe was the leading challenger to incumbent Head of State Samuel Doe. Official results showed that Samuel received a narrow majori ...

. In the 2023 general election, Tyler was elected to the Senate of Liberia as an independent.

Personal life

Tyler was born on 15 December 1963 in

Klay District Klay District is one of four administrative districts of Bomi County, Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its nort ...

. He graduated from the

African Methodist Episcopal University The African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) is a private institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, in the West African nation of Liberia. Located on Camp Johnson Road, the school is the second largest college in Liberia with ove ...

with a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and a minor in

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

. He initially worked as an office manager and resale supervisor for British Petroleum's West African division before taking jobs at various fishing companies in Liberia. In 2009, Tyler earned a J.D. from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.

Political career

In 2005, Tyler ran for Representative for the 1st District of Bomi County as a member of the

Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia 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 ...

, winning with 21.5% of the vote against six opposing candidates. Following the resignation of Speaker

Edwin Snowe Edwin Melvin Snowe, Jr. (born 11 February 1970) is a Liberian politician, serving as a Senator of the Liberian Senate for Bomi . He has served in the House of Representatives of Liberia since January 2006, and he was Speaker of the House ...

in 2007, Tyler stood for the speakership, winning with 32 votes to his opponent's 27. He was fiercely challenged in the 2011 UP primaries; while he prevailed in the election, initial news results reported that he had lost.

Alleged assault

On 18 January 2008, Tyler and his bodyguards were involved in a near-collision with former government official Prince Toe. Tyler's bodyguards allegedly followed Toe to his church, pulled him out of the building, beat him in front of the speaker, and stole two kilograms of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

he had in his possession. On 21 January, the

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

Magisterial Court issued an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...

for Tyler on charges of

aggravated assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

and criminal solicitation. Following the intervention of the Minister of Justice, the arrest warrant was withdrawn for "procedural errors."

Photographers in the Legislature

During a meeting of the House on 31 May 2011, Tyler ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to seize two reporters' cameras after alleging that they were disrupting the proceedings. In protest, the Legislative Reporters Pool initiated a media blackout of the House. Following mediation by the

Press Union of Liberia The Press Union of Liberia was founded on September 30, 1964, by a group of independent journalists. It serves as an umbrella organization for media professionals and institutions to advocate for press freedom and the legal protection of journalist ...

, Tyler apologized to the reporters on 13 June.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Alex J. 1963 births Living people Independent politicians in Liberia Speakers of the House of Representatives of Liberia People from Bomi County Unity Party (Liberia) politicians Liberian lawyers Members of the Senate of Liberia University of Liberia alumni 20th-century Liberian lawyers 21st-century Liberian politicians