The Ministry of National Defense is the government ministry responsible for the maintenance of the national defense and the governance of the military of Liberia, the Armed Forces of Liberia.
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Ministry of Defence of Liberia|
Formed | 25 February 1955; 69 years ago (1955-02-25) |
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Jurisdiction | Government of Liberia |
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Headquarters | Barclay Training Center, Monrovia |
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Minister responsible | - Major General Geraldine George (acting), Minister of Defense
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Agency executives | - Tibli Olandrus Dickson.[1][2], Deputy Minister for Administration
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Website | mod.gov.lr |
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An amendment to the Liberian Constitution allowed the previously named War Department to be renamed the Department of National Defense on February 25, 1955.[3] Then, during the early years of President William Tolbert's Administration after 1971, all departments were renamed Ministries and thus the organization became the Ministry of National Defense. Retired General Ziankahn remains the Minister of Defence.[4]
Secretaries of War and the Navy (1848-1971)
- Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1848-1876)
- Reginald A. Sherman (1876-1892)
- Colonel Anthony D. Williams, Jr. (1892-1900)[6]
- George B. Padmore
- Robert T. Sherman
- Wilmot H. Dennis
- Columbus Harris
- Isaac Moart
- James F. Cooper
- B.W. Payne
- James W. Cooper
- Momolu Massaquoi
- Joseph Dennis
- Henry Reed Cooper
- J. Foulton Dunbar
- Wilkins Tyler
- Isaac Whisnant
- Ernest C.B. Jones
- Ernest J. Yancy
- Harrison Grisby
- Robert A. Brewer (c. 1967-1971)[7]
Ministers of Defense (1971-present)
- Everett Jonathan Goodridge ()[8]
- Allen H. Williams ()[9]
- Harry A. Greaves (1976–1978)
- M. Burleigh Holder (1978–1979)
- James Y. Gbabee (1979–1980)
- Samuel Bennie Pearson (April 1980-1981)
- Albert Karpeh (1981-1982)
- Grey Dio-Glaye Allison (1982-August 1989[11])
- J. Boima Barclay (1989–9 September 1990[12] )
- J. Hezekiah Bowen (1995–1997[14])
- Daniel Chea (1997–2006), as National Transitional Government of Liberia Defense Minister[15]
- Brownie J. Samukai (2006–2017)
- Major General Daniel Ziankahn (22 January 2018-9 February 2024)[16]
- Prince C. Johnson III (9 February 2024-12 February 2024)[17]
- Brigadier General Geraldine J. George (13 February 2024-)[18]
The Ministry's three-story building used to be located on Benson Street in downtown Monrovia, but upon the conclusion of the DynCorp army training effort in Liberia, moved to the Barclay Training Center, also located in central Monrovia, in July 2009. In early August 2009 the Ministry's Comptroller was dismissed, apparently for misappropriating US$50,000 intended for paying soldiers of the rebuilt AFL.[19]
'Looking at the LNG Brigade,' Armed Forces Day Brochure, 1973-74, Ministry of National Defense, via University of Liberia Library. Liberia. American Colonization Society. 1897. Stephen Ellis, The Mask of Anarchy, Hurst & Co., London, 2001, p.118 or 255. Allison was charged and later convicted of ritual killing. Ellis cited Kappel and Korte, Human Rights Violations in Liberia 1980–90: A Documentation, Liberia Working Group, Bremen, 1990, pp.223-5
Ministry of National Defense (Liberia), Armed Forces Today, Vol. 2, No.1, February 11, 2008, p.21-23. Note that this list is a composite of both the MND listing and Dunn, Beyan, and Burrowes. Dunn et al list Pearson and Karpeh which the MND does not.
- Dunn, Elwood D.; Beyan, Amos J.; Burrowes, Carl Patrick (2000). Historical Dictionary of Liberia. Lanham, MD.: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
- M. Burleigh Holder, "The Hand of God," Xlibris Corporation, April 2006.
- Huband, Mark (2013). The Liberian Civil War. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9781135252144.
- Williams, Gabriel I.H. (2002). Heart of Darkness. Trafford Publishing.