Africa's oldest republic, with a constitution modelled on that of the U.S., Liberia nonetheless has weathered dictatorship, violent coups and civil wars since independence in 1847. A rubber production based economy since 1926, Liberia thrived for a period under President William Tubman between 1943 until his death in 1971. The violent seizure of government by Samuel Doe in 1980 and subsequent civil war begun in 1989 which killed 250,000 people darkened Liberia for two lost decades.
Liberia reached stability under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf beginning in 2006 and saw a fair election of football star George Weah on December 26, 2017.
