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Tamba Taylor

Tamba Taylor, also spelled 'Tailor', (September 1898 – October 2000) was a long-serving paramount chief of the Kissi people, Lofa County, Liberia.[1] Taylor served as part of the collective presidency of Liberia 1995–1997.

Taylor was born on 29 September, 1898, in a Kissi family in Milimalah, Kissi Chiefdom (in present-day Foya District).[1][2] His name was Tamba Lamie Kongor.[1][3] He received no formal education.[1] He later changed his name to 'Taylor', due to his profession as a tailor.[1][3] He would later claim to have sewn clothes for Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah.[3]

Taylor became paramount chief in 1957.[3] He served on various national commissions, most notably the National Unification Programme Taylor of President William Tubman.[1] Taylor became popularly known as 'the millionaire of Lofa'.[1] He was rumoured to have had dozens of wives and would have fathered some 200 children.[3]

During Samuel Doe's period as leader of the People's Redemption Council ruling Liberia in the 1980s, Doe sought Taylor's support for the junta government but Taylor did not heed the call.[4]

During the First Liberian Civil War, following the creation of the Liberian National Transitional Government, Taylor's name was proposed as a potential chairman of the Council of State (a provisional collective Presidency) by National Patriotic Front of Liberia leader Charles Taylor (no relation to Tamba Taylor).[5] The 21 December 1994, Accra Agreements outlined that Tamba Taylor would chair a new Council of State, but the Accra Agreements were never implemented.[6] Tamba Taylor became one of six members of the Council of State chaired by Wilton G. S. Sankawulo installed on 1 September 1995.[7] When the Council of State was restructured after the 1996 Abuja Accords, Tamba Taylor retained his seat on the council.[8] However, Tamba Taylor's participation on the Council of State was largely symbolic; in practice he was often excluded from proceedings or unable to follow the conversations due to language barriers.[9]

Taylor died in October 2000.[1][10] He was succeeded as paramount chief by his son Momo S. Taylor.[2] A community hall in Foya District, the Tamba Lamie Taylor Council, is named after Taylor.[11]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Elwood D. Dunn; Amos J. Beyan; Carl Patrick Burrowes (20 December 2000). Historical Dictionary of Liberia. Scarecrow Press. p. 318. ISBN 978-1-4616-5931-0. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b Daily Observer. Foya Paramount Chief, Momo Taylor, Dies at 77 Archived 18 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d e Jeune Afrique, Issues 1774-1790 Archived 26 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Les Editions J.A., 1995. p. 33
  4. ^ Yekutiel Gershoni (28 March 2022). Liberia Under Samuel Doe, 1980–1985: The Politics of Personal Rule. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-79361-788-0. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  5. ^ William C Banks; T. Muller; W. Overstreet (19 December 2005). Political Handbook of the World 2005-2006. CQ Press. p. 680. ISBN 978-1-56802-952-8. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  6. ^ D. Bekoe (28 April 2008). Implementing Peace Agreements: Lessons from Mozambique, Angola, and Liberia. Springer. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-230-61167-2. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  7. ^ Veronica Nmoma. The Civil War and the Refugee Crisis in Liberia Archived 7 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Terrence Sesay (15 December 2014). Behind NPFL and RUF Rebel Lines: The Untold Story. Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-62516-058-4. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  9. ^ Felix Gerdes (May 2013). Civil War and State Formation: The Political Economy of War and Peace in Liberia. Campus Verlag. p. 52. ISBN 978-3-593-39892-1. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  10. ^ FrontPage Africa. Liberia: Kosiah ‘Loved Looting’ And Was Called ‘Physical Cash’ Archived 18 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ The Inquirer. Lofaians Receive Dr. Cassell

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