Vice President of Liberia explained

Post:Vice President
Body:the
Republic of Liberia
Insignia:Coat of arms of Liberia.svg
Insigniasize:125px
Insigniacaption:Coat of arms of Liberia
Incumbent:Jeremiah Koung
Incumbentsince:January 22, 2024
Style:Mr. Vice President

His Excellency
Termlength:Six years
Formation:1847 Constitution of Liberia
July 26, 1847
Inaugural:Nathaniel Brander
January 3, 1848

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 six-year term. In the event of the death, resignation or removal of the president, the vice president ascends to the presidency, and holds the position for the remainder of their predecessor's term. The vice president also serves as the president of the Senate and may cast a vote in the event of a tie. The current vice president is Jeremiah Koung, serving under president Joseph Boakai. He began his term on January 22, 2024.

Qualifications

Article 52 of the Constitution lays out the qualifications for candidates for vice president. To be eligible for office under the current Constitution, a vice presidential candidate must:

Additionally, the vice president may not reside in the same county as the president.

Succession

Under Article 63(b), the vice president ascends to the presidency in the event of president's death, resignation, impeachment, or when the president is declared incapable of carrying out the duties of the office. In the event of ascension, the vice president serves as president for the remainder of their predecessor's term, though this period is not considered a term for the purposes of term limits to the presidency. According to Article 63(a), should the president-elect die or become otherwise incapacitated before his or her inauguration, the vice president-elect is sworn in as president in their place, though a term of this nature does constitute a term for the purposes of determining term limits.

To date, five vice presidents have ascended to the presidency, either due to the president's death, resignation, or removal from office: James Skivring Smith, Alfred Francis Russell, William D. Coleman, William Tolbert, and Moses Blah.

There have been twelve vacancies in the office, the first of which occurred between October 26, 1871 and January 1, 1872; after the ascension of James Skivring Smith to the office of president. The most recent vacancy was between August 11, 2003 and January 16, 2006; after the ascension of Moses Blah to the office of president and prior to the election of Joseph Boakai.

List of officeholders

Political parties
Other factions
Symbols Died in office
PortraitName
Term of officePolitical partyElectedPresidentNotes
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1Nathaniel Brander
Independent1847Roberts
2Anthony D. Williams
Independent1849
1851
3Stephen Allen Benson
Independent1853
4Beverly Page Yates
Independent1855Benson
1857
5Daniel Bashiel Warner
Independent1859
1861
6James M. Priest
Republican Party1863Warner
1865
7Joseph Gibson
Republican Party1867Payne
8James Skivring Smith

True Whig Party1869Roye
Vacancy by ascensionSmith
9Anthony W. Gardiner
Republican Party1871Roberts
1873
10Charles Harmon
Republican Party1875Payne
11Alfred Francis Russell

True Whig Party1877Gardiner
1879
1881
Vacancy by ascensionRussell
12James Thompson
True Whig Party1883Johnson
1885
1887
1889
13William D. Coleman

True Whig Party1891Cheeseman
1893
1895
Vacancy by ascensionColeman
14Joseph J. Ross
True Whig Party1897
1899
Vacancy by death
Gibson
15Joseph D. Summerville
True Whig Party1901
1903A. Barclay
Vacancy by death
16James Jenkins Dossen
yearsTrue Whig Party1905
1907
17Samuel George Harmon
True Whig Party1911Howard
1915
18Samuel Alfred Ross
True Whig Party1919King
19Henry Too Wesley
True Whig Party1923
20Allen Yancy

True Whig Party1927
Vacancy by resignation1930E. Barclay
21James Skivring Smith Jr.
1930 yearsTrue Whig Party
1931
1939
22Clarence Lorenzo Simpson
True Whig Party1943Tubman
23William Tolbert

True Whig Party1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
Vacancy by ascensionApril 19721971Tolbert
24James Edward Greene
April 1972True Whig Party
1975
Vacancy by death
25Bennie Dee Warner

True Whig Party
Vacancy due to People's Redemption Council
26Harry Moniba

National Democratic Party1985Doe
Vacancy due to First Liberian Civil War
27Enoch Dogolea
National Patriotic Party1997Taylor
Vacancy by death
28Moses Blah
National Patriotic Party
Vacancy by ascensionBlah
Vacancy due to Accra Peace Agreement
29Joseph Boakai
Unity Party2005Sirleaf
2011
30Jewel Taylor
yearsNational Patriotic Party2017Weah
31Jeremiah Koung
IncumbentUnity Party2023Boakai

Timeline

See also