Charles Taylor: Difference between revisions

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|occupation = President of Liberia (1997 - 2003) Leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (1989 - 1996)|skills = Training as a guerrilla fighter Knowledge of politics|goals = Become President of Liberia (succeeded)}}

{{Quote|Little countries do not have the luxury of defending themselves. We have to do it before the fact, not after the fact.|Charles Taylor}}

'''Charles Ghankay Taylor''' (January 28th, 1948 - ) was the 22nd President of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003. Prior to his presidency he served as the leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, which initiated the First Liberian Civil War, and was known as one of Africa's most preeminent warlords.

'''Charles Ghankay Taylor''' (January 28th, 1948 - ) was the 22nd President of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003. Prior to his presidency he served as the leader of the [[National Patriotic Front of Liberia]], which initiated the First Liberian Civil War, and was known as one of Africa's most preeminent warlords.

==Biography==

Taylor was born in Arthington, a town near the capital of Monrovia, Liberia, on 28 January 1948, to Nelson and Bernice Taylor. He attended The Newman School in his early years. He took the name "Ghankay" later on, possibly to please and gain favor with indigenous Liberians. His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group, part of the 95% of the people who are indigenous to Liberia. According to most reports, his father was an Americo-Liberian (descended from African-American colonists) who worked as a teacher, sharecropper, lawyer, and judge.

[[File:Taylor's Mugshot 1983.png|thumb|Taylor's Mugshot 1983]]

Taylor graduated from The Bentley Academy and returned to Liberia to join the government of [[Samuel Doe]]. He was accused of embezzlement, being arrested, and imprisoned in US territory. He escaped from prison and arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla under the tutelage of Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. He returned to his country in 1989 as head of a resistance group, the National Patriotic ~~Forces~~ of Liberia (FPNL), to assassinate the repressive Doe, initiating the first Liberian Civil War.

Taylor graduated from The Bentley Academy and returned to Liberia to join the government of [[Samuel Doe]]. He was accused of embezzlement, being arrested, and imprisoned in US territory. He escaped from prison and arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla under the tutelage of Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. He returned to his country in 1989 as head of a resistance group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (FPNL), to assassinate the repressive Doe, initiating the first Liberian Civil War.

Taylor’s forces advanced on the capital of Monrovia in 1990, but his bid for power was checked by rival groups. Doe was brutally [[torture]]d and killed by Taylor's ally [[Prince Johnson]], and for the next seven years, the armed factions fought a brutal civil war in which more than 150,000 people were killed and more than half of the population became refugees.

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 |occupation = President of Liberia (1997 - 2003)<br>Leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (1989 - 1996)|skills = Training as a guerrilla fighter<br>Knowledge of politics|goals = Become President of Liberia (succeeded)}}
 {{Quote|Little countries do not have the luxury of defending themselves. We have to do it before the fact, not after the fact.|Charles Taylor}}
-'''Charles Ghankay Taylor''' (January 28<sup>th</sup>, 1948 - ) was the 22nd President of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003. Prior to his presidency he served as the leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, which initiated the First Liberian Civil War, and was known as one of Africa's most preeminent warlords.
+'''Charles Ghankay Taylor''' (January 28<sup>th</sup>, 1948 - ) was the 22nd President of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003. Prior to his presidency he served as the leader of the [[National Patriotic Front of Liberia]], which initiated the First Liberian Civil War, and was known as one of Africa's most preeminent warlords.
 ==Biography==
 Taylor was born in Arthington, a town near the capital of Monrovia, Liberia, on 28 January 1948, to Nelson and Bernice Taylor. He attended The Newman School in his early years. He took the name "Ghankay" later on, possibly to please and gain favor with indigenous Liberians. His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group, part of the 95% of the people who are indigenous to Liberia. According to most reports, his father was an Americo-Liberian (descended from African-American colonists) who worked as a teacher, sharecropper, lawyer, and judge.
 [[File:Taylor's Mugshot 1983.png|thumb|Taylor's Mugshot 1983]]
-Taylor graduated from The Bentley Academy and returned to Liberia to join the government of [[Samuel Doe]]. He was accused of embezzlement, being arrested, and imprisoned in US territory. He escaped from prison and arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla under the tutelage of Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. He returned to his country in 1989 as head of a resistance group, the National Patriotic Forces of Liberia (FPNL), to assassinate the repressive Doe, initiating the first Liberian Civil War.
+Taylor graduated from The Bentley Academy and returned to Liberia to join the government of [[Samuel Doe]]. He was accused of embezzlement, being arrested, and imprisoned in US territory. He escaped from prison and arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla under the tutelage of Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. He returned to his country in 1989 as head of a resistance group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (FPNL), to assassinate the repressive Doe, initiating the first Liberian Civil War.
 Taylor’s forces advanced on the capital of Monrovia in 1990, but his bid for power was checked by rival groups. Doe was brutally [[torture]]d and killed by Taylor's ally [[Prince Johnson]], and for the next seven years, the armed factions fought a brutal civil war in which more than 150,000 people were killed and more than half of the population became refugees.