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| '''Moses Zeh Blah''' (born ], ]) was named President of ] on ], ], following the resignation of ]. He served as president until ], 2003, when a ]-backed transitional government, headed by ], was sworn in. | '''Moses Zeh Blah''' (born ], ]) was named President of ] on ], ], following the resignation of ]. He served as president for two months, until ], 2003, when a ]-backed transitional government, headed by ], was sworn in. | ||
| Blah |
Blah joined with Taylor because of a shared hatred of then-president ], who killed his wife along with hundreds of others in an ethnic-related massacre. He trained with Taylor in a ] ] camp and served with him as a general during Liberia's civil war in the ]. He held the post of ambassador to ] and ] after Taylor came to power in ]. In ] Blah was appointed as vice president after the death of ], which many suspected was a poisoning. | ||
| As Vice President, Taylor was known as a quiet and unassuming man, driving his own jeep around town rather than using a motorcade and driver, and wearing flowing African robes instead of the normal olive green military uniform. He expressed constant irritation at the bodyguards who followed him around. | |||
| During ], a month after Taylor was indicted for international war crimes, Taylor removed Blah from his post as vice president and held him under house arrest for ten days on charges of conspiring with the United States to overthrow Taylor during the latter's absence for peace talks in ]. Blah was subsequently absolved and reinstated as vice president. | |||
| ⚫ | ==External |
||
| During his two months as temporary President after Taylor's resignation in ], Blah was condemned by rebel groups in the country such as ] for his close ties to Taylor; they charged that he would simply continue Taylor's practices. Blah did make reconciliation attempts during the short time, calling the rebels "brothers" and saying "Let bygones be bygones. If there is power, we can share it." | |||
| Originally trained as a mechanic, Blah was fluent in German, French and Arabic, Taylor had many children and grandchildren by his wife, Nettie. | |||
| ⚫ | ==External links== | ||
| * | * | ||
| *, Emily Robinson, Lehrer NewsHour Online Backgrounder | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 07:07, 23 June 2004
Moses Zeh Blah (born April 18, 1947) was named President of Liberia on August 11, 2003, following the resignation of Charles Taylor. He served as president for two months, until October 14, 2003, when a UN-backed transitional government, headed by Gyude Bryant, was sworn in.
Blah joined with Taylor because of a shared hatred of then-president Samuel Doe, who killed his wife along with hundreds of others in an ethnic-related massacre. He trained with Taylor in a Libyan guerilla camp and served with him as a general during Liberia's civil war in the 1990s. He held the post of ambassador to Libya and Tunisia after Taylor came to power in 1997. In July 2000 Blah was appointed as vice president after the death of Enoch Dogolea, which many suspected was a poisoning.
As Vice President, Taylor was known as a quiet and unassuming man, driving his own jeep around town rather than using a motorcade and driver, and wearing flowing African robes instead of the normal olive green military uniform. He expressed constant irritation at the bodyguards who followed him around.
During July 2003, a month after Taylor was indicted for international war crimes, Taylor removed Blah from his post as vice president and held him under house arrest for ten days on charges of conspiring with the United States to overthrow Taylor during the latter's absence for peace talks in Ghana. Blah was subsequently absolved and reinstated as vice president.
During his two months as temporary President after Taylor's resignation in August 2003, Blah was condemned by rebel groups in the country such as Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy for his close ties to Taylor; they charged that he would simply continue Taylor's practices. Blah did make reconciliation attempts during the short time, calling the rebels "brothers" and saying "Let bygones be bygones. If there is power, we can share it."
Originally trained as a mechanic, Blah was fluent in German, French and Arabic, Taylor had many children and grandchildren by his wife, Nettie.
External links
- BBC News: Moses Blah Profile
- Moses Blah Backgrounder, Emily Robinson, Lehrer NewsHour Online Backgrounder