Moses Zeh Blah (18 April 1947 – 1 April 2013) 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 served as the 28th

vice president of Liberia The vice president of the Republic of Liberia is the second-highest executive official in Liberia, and one of only two elected executive offices along with the President of Liberia, president. The vice president is elected on the same ticket w ...

under President Charles Taylor and became the 23rd

president of Liberia The president of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Prior to the independence of Liber ...

on 11 August 2003, following Taylor's resignation. He served as president for two months, until 14 October 2003, when a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

-backed transitional government, headed by

Gyude Bryant Charles Gyude Bryant (17 January 1949 – 16 April 2014) was a Liberian politician and businessman. He served as the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia from 14 October 2003 to 16 January 2006. The installation of the transitional ...

, was established and Bryant was sworn in as Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia.

Career

Blah was born in Toweh Town, Liberia, a

Gio Gio or GIO may refer to: Science and technology * Gi/o, protein subunits * GIO, a computer bus * GIO (software), a library for accessing virtual file-systems * 11084 Giò, a main belt asteroid * Gibioctet, a unit of digital information * ...

-speaking hamlet in north-eastern

Nimba County Nimba County is a Counties of Liberia, county in northeastern Liberia that shares borders with the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire in the East and the Republic of Guinea in the Northwest. Its capital city is Sanniquellie and its most populous city is ...

, close to the border with the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. He joined with Taylor because of a shared hatred of President

Samuel Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician and military officer who served as the 21st President of Liberia from 1986 to 1990. He ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 ...

, who had killed Blah's wife along with hundreds of others in an ethnic-related massacre. He trained with Taylor in a

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

camp and served with him as a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

during Liberia's

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 ...

in the 1990s. He held the post of

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

after Taylor was elected in 1997. In July 2000 Blah was appointed as

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 ...

after the death of

Enoch Dogolea Enoch Dogolea (1951 – 24 June 2000) was a Liberian politician. He was Charles Taylor's deputy for most of the First Liberian Civil War and then, following Taylor's election as president, served as the country's 27th vice president from 1997 unti ...

who was rumoured to have been

poisoned Poisoning is the harmful effect which occurs when toxic substances are introduced into the body. The term "poisoning" is a derivative of poison, a term describing any chemical substance that may harm or kill a living organism upon ingestion. ...

. Blah was known as a quiet and unassuming man, driving his own

jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

around town rather than using a motorcade and driver, and wearing flowing African robes instead of the normal olive green military uniform. He was constantly annoyed by the presence of

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

s following him around. In June 2003, Taylor had left the country for peace talks in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, and while there he was indicted by the

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s tribunal in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. Blah was urged by the United States to take power from Taylor during his absence, but Blah made no such attempt. After Taylor's return, Blah was held under house arrest for ten days, but was subsequently absolved and reinstated as vice president. When Taylor resigned in August of that year, Blah briefly succeeded him as president. He was condemned by Liberian rebel groups for his close ties to Taylor; they charged that he would simply continue Taylor's practices. Blah responded by calling the rebels "brothers" and saying "Let bygones be bygones. If there is power, we can share it." He invited the rebels to negotiate in his own house. On 7 April 2008, Blah said that he had been sent a

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

to testify at Taylor's trial before the

Special Court for Sierra Leone The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibi ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. He said that he would testify and "speak the truth", and he testified on 14 May 2008, describing child soldiers and the relationship between Taylor and

Foday Sankoh Foday Saybana Sankoh (17 October 1937 – 29 July 2003) was a Sierra Leonean rebel leader who was the founder and commander of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group, which was supported by the Charles Taylor-led NPFL in the 11- ...

. On 1 February 2009, Blah was accused of taking part in the murder of RUF commander

Sam Bockarie Samuel Sam Bockarie (2 October 1964 – 5 May 2003), widely known as Mosquito, was a Sierra Leonean politician and army commander who served as a leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Bockarie was infamous during the Sierra Leone Civ ...

, by a witness narrative to the commissioners of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The witness, a senior commander of the defunct Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) of exiled president Charles Taylor, claimed Vice President Blah was part of the conspiracy and participated in the killing of Bockarie in the town of Tiaplay in Nimba County. Blah died early on 1 April 2013, at age 65, at the John F. Kennedy Hospital in Monrovia.

References

External links

BBC News: Moses Blah ProfileMoses Blah Conspiracy
Emily Robinson, Lehrer NewsHour Online Backgrounder {{DEFAULTSORT:Blah, Moses Presidents of Liberia Vice presidents of Liberia 1947 births 2013 deaths People from Nimba County National Patriotic Party politicians Ambassadors of Liberia to Libya Ambassadors of Liberia to Tunisia Dan people 20th-century Liberian politicians 21st-century Liberian politicians