Gabriel Bacchus Matthews (1948 – September 7, 2007) 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. He is considered one of the leaders in developing a multi-party system in Liberia, long dominated by the

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 founded the

Progressive Alliance of Liberia The Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL) was an opposition political movement formed in 1975 in Liberia led by group of Liberians from the United States and local students. The Political Education Team of the organization was organized, prepared ...

(PAL) in 1975, the first active opposition party since the demise of the Republican Party in the 1870s. It was succeeded by the Progressive People Party (PPP) and later the United People's Party. Matthews twice served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

of Liberia, under Samuel K. Doe (1980–1981) and later under

Amos Sawyer Amos Claudius Sawyer (15 June 1945 – 16 February 2022) was a Liberian politician and academic who served as interim president of Liberia from 22 November 1990 to 7 March 1994. He was voted into office by 35 leaders representing seven political ...

(1990–93).

Biography

As a young man, Matthews joined the dissident movement against President William R. Tolbert. He worked to create an opposition party, as the True Whig Party had been in power for more than 100 years. In 1975 he and many among the Liberian diaspora formed the

(PAL), the first legal opposition party to be recognized in decades. After the April 1980 coup in which Tolbert was overthrown and Samuel K. Doe came to power, Matthews was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the first time. Matthews served as Foreign Minister until 1981. He later fell out of favor with Doe, he had his own personal desires to become Head of State and felt superior to Doe and the other PRC members. Matthews achieved reorganization of the party as the Progressive People's Party (PPP) and legal recognition. It reorganized again as United People's Party (UPP). During the 1980s, Matthews was the main opposition politician in Liberia. Roland Trobeh described him as the father of multi-party democracy in the nation. After Doe's death, in 1990, Matthews again was appointed as Foreign Minister, serving under President Amos Sawyer. He was instrumental in bringing the

ECOMOG The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work ...

Peacekeeping force to Liberia. He remained foreign minister until 1993, when he was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle. At the end of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Matthews stood unsuccessfully as the candidate of the United People's Party in the 1997 presidential election. In 2005, Matthews announced his support for

George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...

in the 2005 presidential election. He taught many youths how to stage non-political advocacy using his practical experience generated from social, political engagement of social institutions. Some of his students were: Frank Awode, Liberia's Child Rights advocate, Trokon Monghah, and the list goes on. Knowing that he was ill, and rejected by some politicians, Matthews told his wife, then in the United States, to ask Monsignor Father Robert Tikpor of the Catholic Church to give his eulogy. Matthews had been barred from his home Providence Baptist Church since opposing President Tolbert.Mark B. Newa, "Baccus: A Rejected Hero"
''The New Republic'' (Liberia), 8 September 2015 He died on September 7, 2007, after a brief illness.

References

External links

''Liberian Observer'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Gabriel Baccus Americo-Liberian people People of Americo-Liberian descent 1948 births 2007 deaths Ministers of foreign affairs of Liberia Candidates for President of Liberia Progressive Alliance of Liberia politicians United People's Party (Liberia) politicians