Samuel Doe (6 May 1951-9 September 1990) was President of Liberia from 12 April 1980 to 9 September 1990, succeeding William R. Tolbert, Jr. and preceding Amos Sawyer.
Biography[]
Samuel Doe was born on 6 May 1951 in Tuzon, Liberia to a Krahn family, one of the indigenous tribes of Liberia. Doe joined the Liberian Army and rose to the rank of Master Sergeant on 11 October 1979, and in 1980 he led a coup of Krahn soldiers in an uprising against President William R. Tolbert, Jr. (who was of African-American descent, like many of the elites) and killed him at the executive palace. He assumed the rank of General after executing several ministers on a beach after parading them naked through the streets, and he had 50 leaders of the Progressive Alliance of Liberia freed. He then arrested 91 Tolbert regime officials, and he ended 133 years of oppression of the natives by the Americo-Liberians. However, Doe was inexperienced and he was unable to effectively rule the country, and he only completed his bachelor's degree from the University of Liberia in 1989. During the Cold War, he allied with the United States and severed Tolbert's ties to the Soviet Union, but his repression increased after his second term. Thomas Quiwonkpa led a coup against Doe, but he was killed and the coup suppressed.
Execution of the Tolbert's Cabinet
After the coup, Doe gave a curfew from dawn to dusk, which in the event of being seen prowling the streets would be considered rebels and summarily executed
Downfall[]
In 1989, Doe's former ally Charles Taylor led a guerrilla war against Doe's government in the Liberian Civil War, and by mid-1990 most of Liberia was controlled by rebels. On 9 September 1990, Doe was captured in Monrovia by Prince Johnson's soldiers, and he was tortured and exposed nude in public. His ears, fingers, and toes were cut off to show that he was not protected by black magic, and he was then beheaded, ending him. His death began the First Liberian Civil War, which saw several warlords compete for power.
Gallery[]
