Charles D.B. King
President of Liberia 1902 - 1930

Published:  14 September, 2005

Charles Dunbar Burgess King was born in Monrovia on March 12, 1871 of Sierra Leonian parents. He studied law and started his career at the Supreme Court, later turned to the State Department. After the turn of the century he became Attorney-General with the rank of cabinet minister under President Arthur Barclay (1904 -12), and Secretary of State under President Daniel E. Howard (1912 - 20). 

Illustrative for Liberia’s international profile in the early 1900s is King’s participation in the Peace Conference following the end of World War I. He also was among those who signed the Treaty of Versailles.

While attending the Peace Conference he was elected president (May, 1919). On January 1, 1920 he was inaugurated. King’s 10-year Administration is marked by some of the most historic events Liberia ever experienced.

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