George Boley

{{Short description|Liberian politician and former warlord}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = George Eutychianus Saigbe Boley | image = George Boley.jpg | caption = Boley in U.S. custody; he became the first person removed under the Child Soldiers Accountability Act. | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|12|7}} | birth_place = Grand Gedeh County, Liberia | party = United People's Party

| office2 = Minister of Education | president2 = Samuel Doe | term_start2 = | term_end2 =

| office3 = Minister of Presidential Affairs | president3 = Samuel Doe | term_start3 = | term_end3 = }}

'''George Eutychianus Saigbe Boley''' (born 7 December 1949) is a Liberian politician and former warlord.<ref>{{cite news |title=George Boley, Liberian Warlord, Is Finally Under Arrest |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/01/george-boley-liberian-warlord-is-finally-under-arrest/34330/ |publisher=The Atlantic |date=27 January 2010}}</ref> He is a member of the Krahn ethnic group.<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Rights Abuses by the Liberian Peace Council and the Need for International Oversight |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/liberia/ |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=17 May 1994}}</ref>

Boley served in the government of President William R. Tolbert Jr. and later held cabinet positions under President Samuel Doe. During the First Liberian Civil War, he became the leader of the Liberia Peace Council (LPC), a militia faction accused by human rights organizations of committing abuses during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Rights Abuses by the Liberian Peace Council and the Need for International Oversight |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/liberia/ |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=17 May 1994}}</ref>

==Early career== Boley served in a junior ministerial role in the administration of President William R. Tolbert Jr.. He was briefly jailed for alleged connections with opposition groups but was released following the military coup of April 1980 that brought Samuel Doe to power.

Under Doe, Boley later served as Minister of Presidential Affairs and as Minister of Education.<ref>{{cite web |title=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia |url=https://www.trcofliberia.org/press_releases/137.html |publisher=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia}}</ref>

==Civil war== After the assassination of Samuel Doe in September 1990 during the First Liberian Civil War, Boley went into exile in the United States. He later returned to Liberia and became the leader of the Liberia Peace Council (LPC), a militia faction active during the civil war.

Human rights organizations accused the LPC of committing widespread abuses during the conflict, including killings, forced displacement, and the recruitment of child soldiers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Rights Abuses by the Liberian Peace Council and the Need for International Oversight |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/liberia/ |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=17 May 1994}}</ref> The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia later identified Boley as a key leader of the LPC militia and recommended that he be investigated for alleged wartime abuses.

==Political career== Boley ran for president in the 1997 Liberian general election. Representing the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), he received 1.26% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elections in Liberia |url=https://africanelections.tripod.com/lr.html |website=African Elections Database}}</ref>

In 2010, Boley was detained in the United States on immigration-related charges.<ref>{{cite news |title=George Boley, Liberian Warlord, Is Finally Under Arrest |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/01/george-boley-liberian-warlord-is-finally-under-arrest/34330/ |publisher=The Atlantic |date=27 January 2010}}</ref> In February 2012 he was deported to Liberia by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after U.S. authorities determined that he had committed human rights abuses during the Liberian civil war.<ref>{{cite news |title=Liberia ex-warlord George Boley to be deported from US |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-16924744 |publisher=BBC |date=7 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Liberian human rights violator removed from U.S. |url=https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/liberian-human-rights-violator-removed-us |publisher=U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement}}</ref> His deportation marked the first removal carried out under the United States Child Soldiers Accountability Act.

In the 2017 Liberian general election, Boley was elected to the House of Representatives of Liberia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Liberia: Representative George Boley Sues Fellow Lawmaker Dixon Sebo for Damages for Wrong |url=https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-representative-george-boley-sues-fellow-lawmaker-dixon-sebo-for-damages-for-wrong/ |publisher=FrontPage Africa}}</ref> He represented Grand Gedeh County's 2nd electoral district on the ticket of the United People's Party.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=National Elections Commission |url=https://www.necliberia.org/pg_img/2017%20Final%20Results_10_19_2017_15_03.pdf |title=National Tally Center Final Results Report for the Presidential and Representative Elections on 10 October 2017 |date=19 October 2017}}</ref>

Boley ran for re-election in the 2023 Liberian general election as a candidate of the Liberia Rebuilding Party but was defeated by Marie G. Johnson.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://smartnewsliberia.com/liberia-rep-gray-speaker-chambers-ousted-from-the-legislature/ |title=LIBERIA: Rep Gray, Speaker Chambers Ousted from the Legislature |publisher=Smart News Liberia |date=19 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://gnnliberia.com/elections-2023-in-house-of-representatives-cdc-captures-25-of-73-seats-while-up-10-and-independent-candidates-18-seats/ |title=Elections 2023: House of Representatives Results |publisher=Global News Network Liberia |date=22 October 2023}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boley, George}} Category:Living people Category:1949 births Category:Liberian rebels Category:African warlords Category:Candidates for President of Liberia Category:National Democratic Party of Liberia politicians Category:Krahn people Category:Education ministers of Liberia Category:Samuel Doe administration cabinet members Category:Members of the Council of State Category:Liberian people imprisoned abroad Category:Liberian war criminals Category:People deported from the United States Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Category:People from Grand Gedeh County Category:Members of the House of Representatives of Liberia Category:United People's Party (Liberia) politicians Category:20th-century Liberian politicians Category:21st-century Liberian politicians

George Boley

Connections

Linked from (21 total)

Links to