Frank Emmanuel Tolbert (February 3, 1910 – April 22, 1980) was a

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n politician and brother of President William R. Tolbert, Jr. The oldest son of William R. Tolbert Sr., national chairman of the ruling

True Whig Party The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest political party in Liberia and Africa as a whole. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-Liberians in rural areas, its historic rival was the Re ...

, he grew up in

Bensonville Bensonville is the capital city of Montserrado County, Liberia. As of the 2008 national census, its population stood at 4,089. Bensonville is located away from the national capital, Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, ca ...

, attended Zion Praise Baptist Church, graduated from

Liberia College The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

, and became involved in politics relatively early in life. As his family became more closely connected to the family of

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justice William V.S. Tubman, Frank began to become prominent: when Tubman ran for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

in 1943, he was rumoured to be Tubman's first choice for

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, although his younger brother William was eventually chosen, perhaps because of Frank's unpredictable moods and violent temper. Despite being passed over for vice president, Frank remained active in the TWP and national politics. By 1976, he was a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and had been elected its president pro Ttmpore. He was abruptly removed from office in 1980 by a military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

: on 12 April, a group of enlisted men calling themselves the "

People's Redemption Council The People's Redemption Council (PRC) was a military junta that ruled Liberia from 1980 to 1984. It was established after the 1980 Liberian coup d'état wherein Samuel Doe seized power on 12 April 1980. The Council, with Doe as its chairman, p ...

murdered President Tolbert, arrested Frank Tolbert and many other high officials, and proclaimed themselves the country's new government. After a rapid trial in a

kangaroo court Kangaroo court is an informal pejorative term for a court that ignores recognized standards of law or justice, carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides, and is typically convened ad hoc. A kangaroo court ma ...

, Tolbert and the others were summarily

executed by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually re ...

on a

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

beach ten days after the coup."13 Shot by Firing Squad". ''The Liberian Inaugural'' 1980-04-23: 1/8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolbert, Frank 1910 births 1980 deaths Extrajudicial killings Liberian Baptists Americo-Liberian people People of Americo-Liberian descent Frank E. Members of the Senate of Liberia Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of Liberia Executed Liberian people People from Montserrado County True Whig Party politicians University of Liberia alumni People executed by Liberia by firing squad Filmed executions 20th-century Baptists 20th-century Liberian politicians