Moses Blah
A Liberian warlord-turned-politician who served as a brief, transitional president during his nation's most violent civil conflict.
1947–2013 (age 66)·President of Liberia in 2003·Birthday: April 18·Baby Boomers
Biography
Moses Blah's political life was inextricably linked to the turbulent history of late-20th-century Liberia. A former commander in Samuel Doe's army, he later became a key lieutenant to rebel leader Charles Taylor during the devastating First Liberian Civil War. His loyalty was rewarded with the vice presidency after Taylor's controversial election in 1997. As Taylor's regime crumbled under international pressure and a renewed rebel offensive in 2003, Blah was thrust into the presidency following Taylor's forced resignation and exile. His two-month tenure was purely transitional, a holding pattern mandated by a peace accord to facilitate the handover to a broader-based interim government. He oversaw the arrival of international peacekeepers before ceding power. Blah's legacy is that of a career soldier and political insider whose highest office was defined not by agenda, but by the urgent necessity of closing one chapter of violence.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Moses was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Moses Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Moses's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2013Died at 66
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Served as the 23rd President of Liberia from August to October 2003, overseeing a critical transition of power.
- Held the position of Vice President of Liberia under President Charles Taylor from 2000 to 2003.
- Was a senior military figure and political ally within Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).
- Presided over the initial deployment of United Nations peacekeeping forces (UNMIL) to Liberia.
Did You Know?
He was the first Liberian president to hand over power to a successor without death or coup since 1944.
Prior to his political career, he received military training in the United States.
His presidency lasted only 64 days, one of the shortest in Liberian history.
He died in Monrovia in 2013 following a period of illness.
“The peace of our nation depends on the rule of law, not the rule of men.”
