Lafayette K. Morgan (February 10, 1931 – April 26, 2005), former economic advisor of the

Republic of 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 Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

, was an accomplished accountant and financial expert.

Early life

Lafayette Kiejarlie (pronounced Kaijai, meaning "Red man" in Vai because he was very light at birth) Morgan was born on February 10, 1931, in the city of Buchanan,

Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with ...

. His father was Grand Bassa Senior Senator Edwin A. Morgan, former chairman of the

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

of Lberia, and his mother, Tarlo Jallah, hailed from

Grand Cape Mount Grand Cape Mount is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Robertsport serves as the capital ...

County. He is the father of Tupin Morgan. Morgan attended the

College of West Africa The College of West Africa is a Methodist high school in Monrovia, Liberia. The school was opened in 1839 (as the "Monrovia Seminary"), making it one of the oldest European-style schools in Africa. It has produced many of Liberia's leaders. Alumni ...

, a leading secondary school in

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 ...

, where he graduated in the 1950s. He briefly attended the

University of Liberia The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

, and later entered

Babson College Babson College is a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Established in 1919, its central focus is on entrepreneurship education. It was founded by Roger W. Babson as an all-male business institute, but became coeducational i ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, USA, where he took the Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and was the first African graduate in the school's history. He later matriculated to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

at Ann Arbor, where he received the MSc. degree in Accounting and Finance.

Public life

Following his return to Liberia in 1960 from advanced studies in Accounting and Finance in the United States, he served as an accountant in the Treasury Department of Liberia (now Ministry of Finance). He quickly moved up in the department, becoming Accountant General later that year. In 1962 he was promoted to Under Secretary of the Treasury for Fiscal Affairs, and in 1964 President William V.S. Tubman appointed him Economic Advisor. Morgan served in this capacity until 1973, when Tubman's successor, President

William R. Tolbert, Jr. William Richard Tolbert Jr. (13 May 1913 – 12 April 1980) was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until 1980. Tolbert was an Americo-Liberian and trained as a civil servant before entering the House of ...

, made him a member of the Cabinet, naming him Liberia's first Minister of State without portfolio.

Business ventures

In 1975 he was appointed Manager of General Services of the Bong Mining Company, a position he held until the 1980

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

that overthrew the Tolbert government. Shortly thereafter Morgan moved to the United States, but returned in 1982 to resume the operation of an accounting practice, which he had founded in 1960 as Morgan, Harmon and Otto. In that same year, he reconstituted the company, in partnership with David Farhat, also an Accounting professional and future Minister of Finance. The firm was renamed Morgan and Farhat. In the 1970s, Morgan also founded a

travel agency A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destinatio ...

and a computer services firm, which he ran until the war in 1990, when he returned to the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Lafayette Liberian economists 1931 births 2005 deaths Babson College alumni Liberian expatriates in the United States People from Buchanan, Liberia People from Monrovia Ross School of Business alumni