Charles Taylor

Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor (born 28 January 1948) is a Liberian former politician. He served as the 22nd president of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003 as a result of the Second Liberian Civil War and growing international pressure. After leaving office, he was found guilty of war crimes committed in the Sierra Leone Civil War, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Born in Arthington, Montserrado County, Liberia, Taylor earned a degree at Bentley College in the United States before returning to Liberia to work in the government of Samuel Doe. After being removed for embezzlement and imprisoned by President Doe, Taylor escaped prison in 1989. He eventually arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla fighter. He returned to Liberia in 1989 as the head of a Libyan-backed rebel group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, to overthrow the Doe government, initiating the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996). Following Doe's execution, Taylor gained control of a large portion of the country and became one of the most prominent warlords in Africa. His forces, along with those of other rival warlords such as ULIMO, were notorious for committing widespread human rights abuses and atrocities during the civil war. Following a peace deal that ended the war, Taylor was elected president in the 1997 general election as a member of the National Patriotic Party (NPP).