Statecraft & Independence
Distinguished
Joseph Boakai
born 1944
Beat a sitting president at the ballot box, and got a peaceful handover
Distinguished is level 3 of 4 in the Liberia Hall of Fame: sustained excellence over a career, widely honoured at home. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Vice-president for twelve years, he lost the presidency in 2017 and won it in 2023, defeating the incumbent George Weah in a run-off — one of very few African elections in which a sitting president has been voted out and gone quietly.
Joseph Nyumah Boakai grew up in Foya in Lofa County, walked to school barefoot by his own account, and worked his way through the agriculture ministry and the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company before becoming Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's vice-president for both her terms.
He lost the 2017 presidential run-off to George Weah, stood again in 2023 at seventy-eight, and won narrowly. Weah conceded before the final count was in. Liberia, which had spent most of the previous half century changing governments by coup or by war, transferred power between rival parties at the ballot box for the second time running.
He lost the 2017 presidential run-off to George Weah, stood again in 2023 at seventy-eight, and won narrowly. Weah conceded before the final count was in. Liberia, which had spent most of the previous half century changing governments by coup or by war, transferred power between rival parties at the ballot box for the second time running.
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