The 1980 Liberian coup d'état happened on April 12, 1980, when
President William Tolbert 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–Lib ...
was overthrown and murdered in a violent
coup. The coup was staged by an indigenous Liberian faction of the
Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) under the command of Master Sergeant
Samuel Doe. Following a period of transition, Doe ruled Liberia throughout the 1980s, until his murder in 1990 during the
First Liberian Civil War
The First Liberian Civil War was the first of Second Liberian Civil War, two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread Political cor ...
.
Background
Historians have argued that a series of complex events led to the coup of 1980. The first of which was the imbalance of power between the native population of Liberia and the
Americo-Liberians
Americo-Liberian people (also known as Congo people or Congau people),Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of African Am ...
. The Americo-Liberians were descended from
African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
(and a minority of
Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...
) settlers, some of whom were freed slaves and their descendants who emigrated to Liberia with assistance from the
American Colonization Society (ACS). The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate well to the indigenous peoples they encountered and following
Liberian Declaration of Independence in 1847, they held an elite position over society while native tribes lived within poorly developed rural communities.
Over time, the two communities did start to integrate and intermingled but in the decades prior to the coup, Americo-Liberians still controlled much of Liberia's political institutions (despite making up a smaller percentage of the total ethnic population) and were reluctant to cede power to the natives at the time. A majority of
Liberian presidents were of Americo-Liberian descent and belonged to 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 Africa as a whole. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-Liberians in rural areas, its historic rival was the Re ...
(TWP). While opposition parties were never banned, the TWP effectively governed the country as a one-party state. Although Liberia saw a period of economic prosperity in the 1960s and rapid development, there was still a disparity between the Americo-Liberians and the natives. After coming to power in 1971,
William Tolbert sought to address imbalances and introduce liberal reforms including recognizing opposition groups. However, Tolbert was also accused of using nepotism and corruption to retain power which fueled opposition to the government. Tolbert's administration also introduced unpopular agricultural reforms which were opposed by many sections of Liberian society and led to riots in 1979.
Following the riots and the
Maryland ritual killings, Tolbert called for the imprisonment of opposition leaders.
Events
In the early hours of April 12, 1980, 17
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
s (NCOs) and soldiers of the AFL led by Master Sergeant
Samuel Doe launched a violent
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
. All of the conspirators were indigenous Liberians, while Tolbert belonged to
Americo-Liberians
Americo-Liberian people (also known as Congo people or Congau people),Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of African Am ...
. The group entered the
Executive Mansion (presidential palace) and killed Tolbert, whose body was dumped into a mass grave together with 27 other victims of the coup. It is reported that
Harrison Pennoh was the person that killed Tolbert. Accounts have differed on where Tolbert was killed. In his book, ''Mask of Anarchy,'' Steven Ellis claimed the President was found sleeping in his office,
where Doe's men shot him, while
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's biography, ''This Child Will Be Great'' says Tolbert was seized and killed in his bed. Between April 21 and April 28, a crowd of angry Liberians gathered to shout insults and throw rocks at Tolbert's corpse after he was buried in a mass grave.
Aftermath
The coup brought an end to over a century of Americo-Liberian political dominance and after assuming power, Doe became the first native Liberian president to govern the country.
Members of Tolbert's family were killed or detained following the coup. One of his sons, A. Benedict Tolbert tried to take refuge in the French Embassy but was arrested by members of Doe's security force who violated
diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country. , and reportedly he was thrown out of a military aircraft while being transported to a prison in
Lofa County. Tolbert's widow
Victoria was briefly placed under house arrest before leaving the country and subsequently lived in exile in the United States until her death in 1997.
By the end of April 1980, most of the cabinet members of the Tolbert administration had been put on trial in a
kangaroo court
Kangaroo court is an informal pejorative term for a court that ignores recognized standards of law or justice, carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides, and is typically convened ad hoc. A kangaroo court ma ...
and
sentenced to death. Thirteen of them were
publicly executed by
firing squad
Firing may refer to:
* Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination
* Firemaking, the act of starting a fire
* Burning; see combustion
* Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms
* Execution by firing squad, a method of ...
on April 22 at a beach near the Barclay Training Center in
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...
. The executed were:
*
Frank E. Tolbert — brother of the president and President pro tempore of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
*
Richard A. Henries — Speaker of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
*
E. Reginald Townsend — National 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 Africa as a whole. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-Liberians in rural areas, its historic rival was the Re ...
* P. Clarence Parker II — Chairman of the National Investment Council and Treasurer of the True Whig Party
*
James A. A. Pierre —
Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
* Joseph J. Chesson Sr. — Minister of Justice
*
Cecil Dennis —
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
* Cyril Bright — former Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs
* John W. Sherman — Assistant Minister of Commerce and Trade
*
James T. Phillips — former Minister of Finance, former Minister of Agriculture
* David Franklin Neal — former Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs
* Charles T. O. King — Deputy Minister for Agriculture
* Frank J. Stewart Sr. — Director of the Budget
The executions were described by journalist
Larry C. Price as a "nightmarish scenario" in which the executed men were "murdered in front of screaming crowds of jubilant indigenous Liberian citizens." Cecil Dennis was the last man to be shot and was reported to have defiantly stared his killers down while uttering a prayer before his execution.
Only five members of the Tolbert administration survived the coup and its aftermath; among them was the Minister of Finance and future President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the
Vice President
A vice president or 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 vi ...
Bennie Dee Warner, agricultural minister
Florence Chenoweth and Burleigh Holder, Minister of National Security.
Chenoweth was able to escape to neighboring
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
before making her way to the United States while Warner was out of the country at the time of the coup. Warner unsuccessfully tried setting up a government in exile before Doe offered him clemency and permission to return to Liberia in 1984. Sirleaf was initially detained but subsequently offered a position in Doe's government which she initially accepted, but later fled the country for the US after she publicly criticized Doe's policies. Both Sirleaf and Chenoweth later returned to Liberian politics after Doe's death.
Following the coup, Doe assumed the rank of
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
and established the
People's Redemption Council (PRC), composed of himself and 14 other low-ranking officers, to rule the country. The PRC was dissolved after the
1985 general election, in which Doe was elected president; he was sworn in on 6 February 1986. Although Doe presented himself as a liberator and someone who would bring relief and more democracy to the country, his administration became accused of authoritarianism and of violently discriminating against other tribes. Doe continued to rule the country until he was murdered on 9 September 1990 by the
INPFC, led by
Prince Johnson, during the
First Liberian Civil War
The First Liberian Civil War was the first of Second Liberian Civil War, two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread Political cor ...
.
Allegation of foreign involvement
In August 2008, before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Monrovia, Doe's former justice minister, Councillor
Chea Cheapoo — who contested the 2011 Liberia Presidential elections — alleged the
CIA had provided a map of the Executive Mansion, enabling the rebels to break into it; that it was a white American CIA agent, and not
Harrison Pennoh, who shot and killed Tolbert; and that the Americans "were responsible for Liberia's nightmare". He also claimed he was not involved in the execution of Tolbert-era officials, despite his prominent position in Doe's regime. However, the next day, before the same TRC, another former minister of Samuel Doe, Boima Fahnbulleh, testified that "the Americans did not support the coup led by Mr. Doe", and that they had no knowledge of either Doe or his plans prior to the coup.
[''The News'', August 7, 2008 (retr. 7–8 Aug.]
Harry Greaves, Tom Kamara, Others Linked
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1980 Liberian coup d'etat
Coup
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
1980s coups d'état and coup attempts
April 1980 in Africa
Conflicts in 1980
Civil wars in Liberia
1980 in politics