Charles Taylor

:For other people named Charles Taylor, see Charles Taylor (disambiguation)

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Charles Ghankay Taylor (born January 28, 1948) was the President of Liberia from 1997 to 2003. A prominent warlord in the Liberian Civil War of the early 1990s, he was subsequently elected president, but his time in office was marked by rebellion and regional conflict and he was forced into exile after another civil war.

Related Topics:
January 28 - 1948 - President - Liberia - 1997 - 2003 - Warlord - Liberian Civil War - 1990s - Exile - Civil war

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Taylor was born in Arthington, a city near Monrovia. His father was Americo-Liberian; his mother was a member of the Gola tribe. Taylor was a student at Bentley College in Boston, USA from 1972 to 1977. He was briefly arrested in 1979 after threatening to take over the Liberian diplomatic mission in New York. He returned to Liberia in 1980.

Related Topics:
Arthington - Monrovia - Americo-Liberian - Gola - Bentley College - Boston - USA - 1972 - 1977 - 1979 - Diplomat - New York - 1980

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Taylor was appointed by President Samuel Doe to run the General Services Agency but was arrested in Massachusetts, in the United States, when Doe accused him of embezzeling almost US$ 1 million. He remained in prison from May 1984 to September 1985 while awaiting extradition. He escaped prison and is thought to have gone to Libya.

Related Topics:
Samuel Doe - Massachusetts - United States - Prison - 1984 - 1985 - Libya

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In December 1989 Taylor launched an armed uprising from Côte d'Ivoire. His forces, known as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), soon controlled most of the country. Doe was overthrown, and tortured to death the following year by Prince Johnson, at that time an ally of Taylor's. Doe's fall led to the political fragmentation of the country into violent factionalism. In mid-1990, Prince Johnson's supporters split from Taylor's group and captured Monrovia for themselves, depriving Taylor of outright victory.

Related Topics:
1989 - Côte d'Ivoire - National Patriotic Front of Liberia - Prince Johnson - Political - 1990

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The civil war turned into an ethnic conflict, with seven factions fighting for control of Liberia's resources (especially iron ore, timber and rubber). Up to 200,000 people were killed and more than 1 million were forced from their homes.

Related Topics:
Iron ore - Timber - Rubber

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After the official end of the civil war in 1996, Taylor became Liberia's president on August 2, 1997, following a landslide victory in July, in which he took 75% of the vote. The election was judged free and fair by observers, although Taylor's victory has been partially attributed to the belief that he would resume the war if he lost, and therefore many people may have voted for him simply to preserve peace. For example, his campaign song included the words "he killed my ma, he killed my pa, I'll vote for him."

Related Topics:
1996 - August 2 - 1997 - Landslide victory

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Taylor supported the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel group in Sierra Leone, during the 1990s, and has been accused of having perpetuated that war through his support for the RUF. During much of his term in office, Taylor was harshly criticised by Western governments and media, and according to one long-standing accusation, Taylor was involved in the trading of "blood diamonds."

Related Topics:
Revolutionary United Front - Sierra Leone - 1990s - Western - Media - Blood diamonds

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In 1999, a rebellion against Taylor began in northern Liberia, led by a group calling itself Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). This group has been frequently accused of grave atrocities, and there is strong evidence that the group is allied with or controlled by the government of neighboring Guinea.

Related Topics:
1999 - Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy - Guinea

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In early 2003, as LURD was consolidating its control of northern Liberia, a second rebel group, called the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) and allegedly backed by the Ivorian government, emerged in southern Liberia and achieved rapid successes. By the summer, Taylor's government controlled less than a third of Liberia.

Related Topics:
2003 - Movement for Democracy in Liberia

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In June 2003, a United Nations justice tribunal issued a warrant for Taylor's arrest, charging him with war crimes. The UN asserts that Taylor created and backed the RUF rebels in Sierra Leone, which is accused of a range of atrocities, including the use of child soldiers. The prosecutor also said Taylor's administration had harbored members of Al-Qaeda sought in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4577547.stm

Related Topics:
June 2003 - United Nations - War crimes - Sierra Leone - Child soldier

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The indictment was issued at Taylor's official visit to Ghana. With the backing of South Africann president Thabo Mbeki, against the urging of Sierra Leone president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Ghanaian police failed to arrest Taylor, who returned to Monrovia.

Related Topics:
Ghana - South African - Thabo Mbeki - Ahmad Tejan Kabbah - Monrovia

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During his absence for the peace talks in Ghana, it is alleged that the US urged the vice president, Moses Blah, to seize power. Upon his return, Taylor briefly dismissed Blah from his post, only to reinstate him a few days later. Meanwhile, the rebel group LURD initiated a siege of Monrovia, and several bloody battles were fought as Taylor's forces defeated rebel attempts to capture the city. The pressure on Taylor increased further as U.S. President George W. Bush stated that Taylor "must leave Liberia" twice in July 2003.

Related Topics:
Ghana - Vice president - Moses Blah - U.S. President - George W. Bush - July 2003

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Taylor insisted that he would resign only if American peacekeeping troops were deployed to Liberia. President Bush publicly called upon Charles Taylor to resign and leave the country if any American involvement was to be considered. Meanwhile, the African states, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), under the leadership of Nigeria, sent troops to Liberia with the assistance of US$10 million dollars from the UShttp://www.weeklyholiday.net/290803/inter.html. On August 6, a 32 member U.S. military assessment team were deployed as a liaison with the ECOWAS troopshttp://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/07/liberia/. On July 9, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo offered Taylor safe exile in his country, but only if Taylor stays out of Liberian politicshttp://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/09/liberia/.

Related Topics:
Peacekeeping - Liberia - President Bush - Economic Community of West African States - August 6 - July 9 - Olusegun Obasanjo

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On August 10, Charles Taylor appeared on national television in Liberia to announce that he would resign the following day and hand power to the nation's vice president, Moses Blah. He harshly criticized the United States in his farewell address, saying that the Bush administration's insistence that he leave the country was a foolish policy that would hurt Liberia.

Related Topics:
August 10 - Moses Blah - United States - Farewell address

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On August 11, Taylor resigned, leaving Moses Blah as his successor until a transitional government was established on October 14. At the handover were Ghanaian President John Kufuor, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, representing African regional councils. The U.S. brought three warships with 2,300 Marines into view of the coast. Taylor flew to Nigeria where the Nigerian government provided houses for him and his entourage in Calabar.

Related Topics:
August 11 - Moses Blah - October 14 - John Kufuor - Thabo Mbeki - Joaquim Chissano - Nigeria - Calabar

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In November 2003, the United States Congress passed a bill that included a reward offer of two million dollars for Taylor's capture. While the peace agreement had guaranteed Taylor safe exile in Nigeria, it also required that he not attempt to influence Liberian politics, a requirement his critics claim he has disregarded. On December 4, Interpol issued a "red notice", suggesting that countries have the international right to arrest him. Taylor is now on Interpol's Most Wanted list, noted as possibly being dangerous, and is wanted for "crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Convention." However, Nigeria, which is currently holding Taylor, has stated that it will not submit to Interpol's demands, unless Liberia wants to try him; if so, Nigeria will return Taylor to Liberia for a fair trial.

Related Topics:
November 2003 - United States Congress - Nigeria - December 4 - Interpol - 1949 - Geneva Convention - Liberia

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On March 6, 2004, the United States presented a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council seeking a freeze of Taylor's assets, as well as those of his family and allies.

Related Topics:
March 6 - 2004 - United Nations Security Council

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Note: Charles Taylor is a frequent figure in 419 scams.

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