Charles D. B. King
President of Liberia
Died when: 86 years 176 days (1037 months)Star Sign: Pisces
Charles Dunbar Burgess King (12 March 1875 – 4 September 1961) was a Liberian politician who served as the 17th president of Liberia from 1920 to 1930.
He was of Americo-Liberian and Sierra Leone Creole descent.He was a member of the True Whig Party, which ruled the country from 1878 until 1980.
King was Attorney General from 1904 until 1912, and Secretary of State of Liberia from 1912 until he was elected president in 1919.In this capacity, he attended the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and the accompanying First Pan-African Congress.
Though a moderate supporter of reform, he continued to support the patronage machine and corrupt dominance of the True Whig Party.
President King’s administration was marked with scandal.His economic agenda and development plan constantly fell short of expectations; although literacy rates increased steadily in regards to wider access to public education he failed to prevent Liberia from political unrest further hindering economic growth.
In 1927, he won the presidential election with over 15 times more votes than there were electors, causing concern for a rigged and corrupt election, but a forced labor and slavery scandal forced his resignation in 1930.
Charles King resigned in disgrace and retired from seeking higher office thereafter until his death.His presidency was marked by extreme corruption, nepotism for the hiring of officials rather than by skill, and a lack of transparency regarding the decisions his administration was making regarding the welfare of the people and utilization of slave labor.
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President of Liberia
President of Liberia
President of Liberia