Executive Mansion, Monrovia

Executive Mansion
Executive Mansion
	Executive Mansion in 2009.
	Location within Liberia
General information
Status	In use
Type	Presidential palace
Location	Capitol Hill district
Town or city	Monrovia
Country	Liberia
Coordinates	6°18′01″N 10°47′54″W / 6.3003°N 10.7983°W
Current tenants	President Joseph Boakai
Construction started	1961
Completed	1964
Client	William Tubman
Owner	Government of Liberia
Technical details
Floor count	8
Known for	Official residence of the president of Liberia

The Executive Mansion of Liberia is the official residence and workplace of the country's president.^[1]^[2] Located across the street from the Capitol Building in the Capitol Hill district of Monrovia, the current building was constructed during the presidency of William Tubman, which lasted from 1944 to 1971.^[2] The construction started in 1961, and was completed in 1964.^[3]^[4]

The Executive Mansion was the scene of the murder of Tubman's successor, President William Tolbert (in office 1971–1980), during the 1980 coup d'état.^[5]

According to public hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), blood ritual and other sacrifices were performed at the Executive Mansion during the presidency of Samuel Doe, which lasted from 1980 to 1990. They were meant to render the president as well as the Executive Mansion impregnable. Hundreds of people, especially men, are also said to have been killed on the grounds of the Executive Mansion in the wake of the failed coup attempt by Thomas Quiwonkpa in 1985.^[3]

The Executive Mansion was destroyed by fire on July 26, 2006, during the 159th anniversary celebration of the adoption of the Liberian Declaration of Independence. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (in office 2006–2018) was at the time feting foreign guests and dignitaries in the gardens of the Executive Mansion.^[6] On February 14, 2022, the Executive Mansion was reopened.^[7]

Gallery

Residence of Joseph Jenkins Roberts, first president of Liberia, between 1848 and 1852.
Old Executive Mansion, between 1910 and 1920.

References

^ Johnston, Sir Harry Hamilton; Otto Stapf (1906). Liberia. Vol. 1. Dodd, Mead & Company. p. 222.
^ ^a ^b Massaquoi, Hans J. (October 1971). "Liberia: End of the Tubman Era". Ebony: 48.
^ ^a ^b Alwin Worzi (January 18, 2018). "Executive Mansion Not Prepared for Weah". Daily Observer. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
^ "Monrovia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
^ "Liberia: After the Takeover, Revenge". Time. April 18, 1980. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008.
^ Clayeh, J. H. Webster (May 4, 2021). "Liberia: Executive Mansion Wall Falls". FrontPage Africa.
^ "Liberia: President Weah to Move in the Executive Mansion on February 14". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved February 18, 2022.