Gabriel Bacchus Matthews (1948 – September 7, 2007) was a Liberian politician. He is considered one of the leaders in developing a multi-party system in Liberia, long dominated by the

True Whig Party The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest List of political parties in Liberia, political party in Liberia and one of the oldest parties in Africa. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-L ...

. He founded the

Progressive Alliance of Liberia The Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL) was an opposition political movement formed in 1975 in Liberia led by group of Liberians from the United States and local students. The Political Education Team of the organization was organized, prepared, ...

(PAL) in 1975, the first active opposition party since the demise of the Republican Party. It was succeeded by the Progressive People Party (PPP) and later the United People's Party. Matthews twice served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

of Liberia, under

Samuel K. Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician who served as the 21st president of Liberia from 1980 to 1990. Doe ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 to 1984 and then as ...

(1980–1981) and later under Amos Sawyer (1990–93).

Biography

As a young man, Matthews joined the dissident movement against President William R. Tolbert. He worked to create an opposition party, as the True Whig Party had been in power for more than 100 years. In 1975 he and many among the Liberian diaspora formed the

(PAL), the first legal opposition party to be recognized in decades. After the April 1980 coup in which Tolbert was overthrown and

came to power, Matthews was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the first time. Matthews served as Foreign Minister until 1981. He later fell out of favor with Doe, he had his own personal desires to become Head of State and felt superior to Doe and the other PRC members. Matthews achieved reorganization of the party as the Progressive People's Party (PPP) and legal recognition. It reorganized again as United People's Party (UPP). During the 1980s, Matthews was the main opposition politician in Liberia. Roland Trobeh described him as the father of multi-party democracy in the nation. After Doe's death, in 1990, Matthews again was appointed as Foreign Minister, serving under President Amos Sawyer. He was instrumental in bringing the

ECOMOG The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work ...

Peacekeeping force to Liberia. He remained foreign minister until 1993, when he was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle. At the end of the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Matthews stood unsuccessfully as the candidate of the United People's Party in the 1997 presidential election. In 2005, Matthews announced his support for

George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as ...

in the 2005 presidential election. He taught many youths how to stage non-political advocacy using his practical experience generated from social, political engagement of social institutions. Some of his students were: Frank Awode, Liberia's Child Rights advocate, Trokon Monghah, and the list goes on. Knowing that he was ill, and rejected by some politicians, Matthews told his wife, then in the United States, to ask Monsignor Father

Robert Tikpor The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

of the Catholic Church to give his eulogy. Matthews had been barred from his home Providence Baptist Church since opposing President Tolbert.Mark B. Newa, "Baccus: A Rejected Hero"
''The New Republic'' (Liberia), 8 September 2015 He died on September 7, 2007, after a brief illness.

References

External links

''Liberian Observer'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Gabriel Baccus Americo-Liberian people People of Americo-Liberian descent 1948 births 2007 deaths Foreign Ministers of Liberia Candidates for President of Liberia Progressive Alliance of Liberia politicians United People's Party (Liberia) politicians