Executive Mansion, Monrovia

{{short description|Official residence and workplace of the President of Liberia}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}

{{Infobox building

| name = Executive Mansion

| native_name =

| native_name_lang = English

| logo =

| logo_size =

| logo_alt =

| logo_caption =

| image = Executive Mansion Apr 09.JPG

| image_size =

| image_alt =

| image_caption = Executive Mansion in 2009.

| map_type = Liberia

| map_alt =

| map_caption = Location within Liberia

| map_size =

| map_dot_label =

| map_dot_mark =

| relief =

| former_names =

| alternate_names =

| etymology =

| status = In use

| cancelled =

| topped_out =

| building_type = Presidential palace

| architectural_style =

| classification =

| location = Capitol Hill district

| address =

| location_city = Monrovia

| location_country = Liberia

| coordinates = {{coord|6.3003|-10.7983|display=inline,title}}

| altitude =

| current_tenants = President Joseph Boakai

| namesake =

| groundbreaking_date =

| start_date = 1961

| stop_date =

| est_completion =

| topped_out_date =

| completion_date = 1964

| opened_date =

| inauguration_date =

| relocated_date =

| renovation_date =

| closing_date =

| destruction_date =

| cost =

| ren_cost =

| client = William Tubman

| owner = Government of Liberia

| landlord =

| affiliation =

| height =

| architectural =

| tip =

| antenna_spire =

| roof =

| top_floor =

| observatory =

| diameter =

| circumference =

| weight =

| other_dimensions =

| structural_system =

| material =

| size =

| floor_count = 8

| floor_area =

| elevator_count =

| grounds_area =

| architect =

| architecture_firm =

| developer =

| engineer =

| structural_engineer =

| services_engineer =

| civil_engineer =

| other_designers =

| quantity_surveyor =

| main_contractor =

| awards =

| designations =

| known_for = Official residence of the president of Liberia

| ren_architect =

| ren_firm =

| ren_engineer =

| ren_str_engineer =

| ren_serv_engineer =

| ren_civ_engineer =

| ren_oth_designers =

| ren_qty_surveyor =

| ren_contractor =

| ren_awards =

| rooms =

| parking =

| website =

| embed =

| embedded =

| references =

| footnotes =

}}

File:Map of Monrovia.png map of Monrovia, showing the location of the Executive Mansion.]]

The Executive Mansion of Liberia is the official residence and workplace of the country's president.{{cite book|last=Johnston|first=Sir Harry Hamilton|author2=Otto Stapf|title=Liberia|publisher=Dodd, Mead & Company|year=1906|volume=1|page=222|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XTYbAAAAYAAJ&q=%22executive%20mansion%22%20liberia&pg=PA222}}{{cite journal|last=Massaquoi|first=Hans J.|date=October 1971|title=Liberia: End of the Tubman Era|journal=Ebony|pages=48|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ntwDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22executive+mansion%22&pg=PA48}} Located across the street from the Capitol Building in the Capitol Hill district of Monrovia, the current building was constructed during the presidency of William Tubman, which lasted from 1944 to 1971. The construction started in 1961, and was completed in 1964.{{cite web|url=https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/executive-mansion-not-prepared-for-weah/|title=Executive Mansion Not Prepared for Weah|author=Alwin Worzi|publisher=Daily Observer|date=18 January 2018|accessdate=8 March 2019|archive-date=February 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228094127/https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/executive-mansion-not-prepared-for-weah/|url-status=dead}}{{cite encyclopedia |url= https://www.britannica.com/place/Monrovia |accessdate= March 7, 2019 |encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica |title= Monrovia }}

The Executive Mansion was the scene of the murder of Tubman's successor, President William Tolbert (in office 1971–1980), during the 1980 coup d'état.{{cite magazine|magazine=Time |date=1980-04-18 |title=Liberia: After the Takeover, Revenge |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924057,00.html#ixzz0dsadsRgy |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928150953/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C924057%2C00.html |archivedate=September 28, 2008 }}

According to public hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), blood ritual and other sacrifices were performed at the Executive Mansion during the presidency of Samuel Doe, which lasted from 1980 to 1990. They were meant to render the president as well as the Executive Mansion impregnable. Hundreds of people, especially men, are also said to have been killed on the grounds of the Executive Mansion in the wake of the failed coup attempt by Thomas Quiwonkpa in 1985.

The Executive Mansion was destroyed by fire on July 26, 2006, during the 159th anniversary celebration of the adoption of the Liberian Declaration of Independence. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (in office 2006–2018) was at the time feting foreign guests and dignitaries in the gardens of the Executive Mansion.{{cite news |first=J. H. Webster |last=Clayeh |date=May 4, 2021 |url=https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-executive-mansion-wall-falls/ |title=Liberia: Executive Mansion Wall Falls |work=FrontPage Africa}} On February 14, 2022, the Executive Mansion was reopened.{{Cite web|title=Liberia: President Weah to Move in the Executive Mansion on February 14|url=https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-president-weah-to-move-in-the-executive-mansion-on-february-14/|access-date=2022-02-18|website=FrontPageAfrica|language=en-US}}