Joseph Jenkins Roberts

1st and 7th president of Liberia (1848–56, 1872–76)

Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was an African American merchant who emigrated to Liberia in 1829, where he became a politician. Elected as the first (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) president of Liberia after independence, he was the first man of African descent to govern the country, serving previously as governor from 1841 to 1848. He later returned to office in the 1871 general election following the 1871 Liberian coup d'état.

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