SAMUEL KANYON DOE
Liberia was founded by American Blacks who dominated the Government until Doe shot the President on Television and seized the government. He was a member of the majority Krahn tribe which wanted to control the government. Under Doe the Liberian economy collapsed and civil rights evaporated.
Samuel Kanyon Doe was a Liberian politician who served as the Liberian leader from 1980 to 1990, first as a military leader and later as a civilian. While a master sergeant in the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), Doe staged a violent coup d'etat in April 1980 that left him de facto head of state. During the coup, then president William Tolbert, and much of the True Whig Party leadership were executed. Doe then established the People's Redemption Council, assuming the rank of general.
