Moses Zeh Blah (18 April 1947 – 1 April 2013) was 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. He served as the 28th

vice president of Liberia 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 ...

under President Charles Taylor and became the 23rd

president of Liberia The president of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Prior to the independence of Liberia ...

on 11 August 2003, following Taylor's resignation. He served as President for two months, until 14 October 2003, when a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

-backed transitional government, headed by

Gyude Bryant Charles Gyude Bryant (17 January 1949 – 16 April 2014) was a Liberian politician and businessman. He served as the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia from 14 October 2003 to 16 January 2006. The installation of the transitional ...

, was sworn in as Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia.

Career

Blah was born in Toweh Town, Liberia, a Gio-speaking hamlet in north-eastern

Nimba County Nimba County is a county in northeastern Liberia that shares borders with the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire in the East and the Republic of Guinea in the Northwest. Its capital city is Sanniquellie and its most populous city is Ganta. With the count ...

, close to the border with the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. He joined with Taylor because of a shared hatred of President

Samuel 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 a ...

, who had killed Blah's wife along with hundreds of others in an ethnic-related massacre. He trained with Taylor in a

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

n guerrilla camp and served with him as a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

during Liberia's

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 ...

in the 1990s. He held the post of

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

after Taylor was elected in 1997. In July 2000 Blah was appointed as

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

after the death of Enoch Dogolea who was rumoured to have been

poisoned A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not t ...

. Blah was known as a quiet and unassuming man, driving his own

jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

around town rather than using a motorcade and driver, and wearing flowing African robes instead of the normal olive green military uniform. He was constantly annoyed by the presence of

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

s following him around. In June 2003, Taylor had left the country for peace talks in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, and while there he was indicted by the war crimes tribunal in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. Blah was urged by the United States to take power from Taylor during his absence, but Blah made no such attempt. After Taylor's return, Blah was held under house arrest for ten days, but was subsequently absolved and reinstated as Vice President. When Taylor resigned in August of that year, Blah briefly succeeded him as president. He was condemned by Liberian rebel groups for his close ties to Taylor; they charged that he would simply continue Taylor's practices. Blah responded by calling the rebels "brothers" and saying "Let bygones be bygones. If there is power, we can share it." He invited the rebels to negotiate in his own house. On 7 April 2008, Blah said that he had been sent a

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

to testify at Taylor's trial before the

Special Court for Sierra Leone The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibil ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. He said that he would testify and "speak the truth", and he testified on 14 May 2008, describing child soldiers and the relationship between Taylor and

Foday Sankoh Foday Saybana Sankoh (17 October 1937 – 29 July 2003) was the founder of the Sierra Leone rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which was supported by Charles Taylor-led NPFL in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War, starting i ...

. On February 1, 2009, Blah was accused of taking part in the murder of RUF commander

Sam Bockarie Samuel Sam Bockarie, widely known as Mosquito (2 October 1964 – 5 May 2003), was a Sierra Leonean politician and army commander who served as a leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Bockarie was infamous during the Sierra Leone Civil ...

, by a witness narrative to the commissioners of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The witness, a senior commander of the defunct Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) of exiled President Charles Taylor, claimed Vice president Blah was part of the conspiracy and participated in the killing of Bockarie in the town of Tiaplay in Nimba County. Blah died early on 1 April 2013, two weeks and three days before his 66th birthday, at the John F. Kennedy Hospital in Monrovia.

Personal life

Originally trained as a mechanic, Blah was fluent in German, French and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. He had many children by his wife Nettie, and many grandchildren.

References

External links

BBC News: Moses Blah ProfileMoses Blah Conspiracy
Emily Robinson, Lehrer NewsHour Online Backgrounder {{DEFAULTSORT:Blah, Moses Presidents of Liberia Vice presidents of Liberia 1947 births 2013 deaths People from Nimba County National Patriotic Party politicians Ambassadors of Liberia to Libya Ambassadors of Liberia to Tunisia Dan people 20th-century Liberian politicians 21st-century Liberian politicians