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 in , executive power in the Commonwealth of Liberia was held by the governor of Liberia , who was appointed by the American Colonization Society.
The Constitution transferred the executive powers of the governorship to the presidency, which was largely modeled on the presidency of the United States. Between and , the presidency was exclusively held by Americo-Liberians , the original American settlers of Liberia and their descendants. Gardiner marked the beginning of years of one-party rule by the True Whigs. After his overthrow and murder in , the presidency was again vacated for seven years during the First Liberian Civil War and again for two years following the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War in Under the Constitution , the president is directly elected by eligible voters to a six-year term, which may be renewed once.
Overall, 25 individuals have served as president, including Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , the first elected female head of state in Africa. On January 22, , Joseph Boakai was sworn in as the twenty-sixth and current president of Liberia.
Following the establishment of the Commonwealth of Liberia in , executive power was vested in the governor of Liberia, who was appointed and served at the pleasure of the American Colonization Society. The first governor, Thomas Buchanan , served from until his death in He was succeeded by Joseph Jenkins Roberts , the first person of African descent to serve as governor of Liberia. Upon independence in , Roberts was elected as the first president of Liberia. The Constitution denied suffrage to the indigenous population by requiring voters to own real estate.
As a result, the presidency was exclusively held by Americo-Liberians until , when a military coup led by Samuel Doe , an ethnic Krahn , overthrew and murdered President William Tolbert.
