Talk:William R. Tolbert, Jr.
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Your Tolbert summary of historical events is quite accurate. However it doen't touch on the character make up of Tolbert or the influnece his brother Steve had on running the country.
William as the polite President was followed by, his bother, Steve the hachet man.
I served as personal pilot to the pres for near two years and as Executive director of the Executive Air Wing, 1974-75. With Steve as Minister of Finance, the two brothers raped the country. Any investments went through MInister Philips and Steve. Philips demanded 5% which he shared with Steve. As he stated, "You know how we do business here." Philips was killed during the coup.
The death of Steve in an aircraft accident (I predicted same) caused the Grumman Gulfstream II, EL-WRT, to be sold (to John Deere Co.)
Corruption prevailed during my time in Monrovia. I had a good rapport with H.E. President Tolbert. I had one of the few chauffer driven airconditioned Pouget's in country. My airconditioned, furnished three bedroom home was one of a five home compound. Enjoyable but the swimming pool lacked a functioning water system. A date tree near by provided delicious snacks.
William R. Hollis, Capt of the president's Grummon Gulfstream jet (Ser. # 067)
Uhh.... "A date tree near by provided delicious snacks." That just makes that entire little story there sound just fake.
My primary source is experience: I grew from a little boy to a young man during the seventies in Liberia.
The rise and fall of Tolbert symbolizes the fatal flaw of the first Liberian republic, from 1847 to 1980. Americo-Liberian leaders and their subordinates consistently kept all of the country's wealth, resources, and opportunities for the Tolberts and their cronies. This was the way Liberia had been governed from the very beginning. Tolbert's apparent greed and need to have everything for himself or his family and close friends, overwhelmed all of his "so call" reforms... When the first ship of freed black Americans arrived from the United States, their mission was to build a free, independent African nation, a "sweet land of liberty for all..." The leadership over the centuries, raped the country of its wealth, deprived the indigenous peoples from equal opportunities, and enriched themselves with government funds derived from mineral and agriculture sales, and put a choke-hold on top jobs, scholarships. Equal opportunity was a generation fantasy unless you were a part of the Tolbert family or close to the earlier leaders, Tubman, Barclay, King, and on and on.
During the Tolbert years, Mr William Tolbert was president of the country. He was head of the Baptist church in Liberia. He and his family monopolized the rice industry (with the assistance of Lebanese traders); competition in this industry was straggled. Mr Tolbert and his family decided that they would take over production in the school uniform industry. Competition was discouraged. Mr Tolbert's son, AB, was a high government official. His brother, Frank was a top senate leader. His relatives overwhelmed cabinet positions and senior regional posts in other parts of the country. Mr Tolbert build several missions and primarily housed his many young girlfriends there.
For all his power, brilliance, financial entrepreneurial and industrial intelligence, he was stubbornly blind to the growing frustration of the majority of the population, indigenous African population and a few Americo Liberian families who strived for their livelihood, some near to virtual poverty while the Tolbertites lived like kings and royalty. The pattern of Americo Liberian corruption and greed in the government, church and society throughout a century and a half stired hate, anger for the ruling class and aroused a strong defiant spirit amongst the Liberian people. As some revolutionaries put it, "the time of the people had come". The brilliant, selfish, corrupt statesman and churchman had presided over the fall of the first republic.
Ben Knuckles
I know that Wikipedia shouldn't be used as forum but, my father was living in Liberia those years and say that Tolbert began an approach to Soviet Union wich USA dislake, so the americans supported the SK Doe coupe. Is this true? Can be included in the article? --Bentaguayre 17:47, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
