Jewel Taylor
{{Short description|Vice president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use Liberian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Jewel Taylor
| image = Jewel Taylor (9061) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Taylor in 2018
| office = 30th Vice President of Liberia
| president = George Weah
| term_start = 22 January 2018
| term_end = 22 January 2024
| predecessor = Joseph Boakai
| successor = Jeremiah Koung
| office1 = Member of the Senate of Liberia
for Bong County
| term_start1 = 13 January 2006
| term_end1 = 22 January 2018
| predecessor1 = NTLA
| office2 = First Lady of Liberia
| term_label2 = In role
| term_start2 = 2 August 1997
| term_end2 = 11 August 2003
| president2 = Charles Taylor
| predecessor2 = Nancy Doe
| successor2 = Nettie Blah
| birth_name = Jewel Cianeh Howard
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|01|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = Zorzor, Lofa, Liberia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Coalition for Democratic Change
| otherparty = National Patriotic Party
| signature =
| alma_mater = University of Liberia
Cuttington University
| spouse = {{marriage|Charles Taylor|1997|2006|reason=divorced}}
| children = 2
| occupation = Politician
}}
Jewel Cianeh Taylor (née Howard; born 17 January 1963) is a Liberian politician who served as the 30th vice president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. She was married to convicted warlord and former president Charles Taylor from 1997 to 2006 and was first lady of Liberia during his presidency.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/jewel-howard-taylor-war-weah-agenda-171203123625177.html|title=Jewel Howard-Taylor on war, Weah and her agenda|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=2020-02-28}} In 2005, Jewel Taylor was elected to the Senate of Liberia for Bong County as a member of the National Patriotic Party. She was Chair of the Senate Health and Social Welfare Committee on Gender, Women and Children.[http://www.kas-benin.de/liberia/Profiles_2005_52nd_Legislature-Liberia.pdf A Profile of Members of the 52nd Legislature of Liberia]
Life and career
While her husband was president, Taylor held several official posts in the Liberian government, including Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Liberia (forerunner to the current Central Bank of Liberia), President of the Agriculture Cooperative and Development Bank (ACDB) and Mortgage Financing Underwriter of the First Union National Bank. In addition, she focused on educational, health, and social projects.
Taylor holds a graduate degree in banking and two bachelors' in banking and economics. She is currently enrolled in the MBA program at Cuttington University in Liberia.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}} On 21 December 2011, she graduated from the Louise Arthur Grimes School of Law of the state-owned University of Liberia.{{Cite web|title=Alumni – Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law|url=https://www.lagsl.edu.lr/about/alumni/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510172747/http://www.lagsl.edu.lr/about/alumni/|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2017|access-date=2020-08-25|website=www.lagsl.edu.lr}} Two days later, a public dispute arose in Bong County regarding honors allegedly given her; she was announced to be the new holder of the title "Madam Suakoko","Madam Suakoko! Sen. Taylor Receives Traditional Honor". The Analyst 2011-12-29: 1, 2. an honorary Bong County title memorializing the namesake of the Suakoko District, but members of the group that had supposedly awarded her the title soon began denying that the award had been given by their group, saying that the meeting at which she was awarded the title was a meeting to help county residents overcome political differences."[https://tnrliberia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=760%3Asen-taylors-traditional-honor-backfires&catid=1%3Afrom-the-counties&Itemid=2 Sen. Taylor's Traditional Honor Backfires]{{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}", The New Republic, 2012-01-20. Accessed 2013-01-13.
In February 2012, Taylor attempted to introduce legislation into the Liberian parliament that would have made homosexual activity a first-degree felony carrying the death penalty as the maximum punishment. The legislation was not passed after President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said she would not sign any such bill.{{Cite news|url=http://www.africareview.com/News/-/979180/1328770/-/gn8vwuz/-/index.html|title=Liberia ex-first lady proposes anti-gay bill|work=Africa Review|access-date=2017-12-20|language=en-UK|archive-date=9 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409111829/http://www.africareview.com/News/-/979180/1328770/-/gn8vwuz/-/index.html|url-status=dead}}
In 2017, Taylor was chosen by George Weah as his running mate on the newly formed Coalition (CDC) ticket. Following a runoff in late 2017, she became the first female Vice President of Liberia when her party won the elections.
In 2020, she was infected with COVID-19 and was flown to Ghana for treatment.{{Cite web|title=Liberia VP Jewel Howard-Taylor flown to Ghana for Covid-19 treatment|url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/liberia-vp-jewel-howard-taylor-151148393.html|access-date=2020-08-20|website=ca.news.yahoo.com|language=en-CA|archive-date=12 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812181256/https://ca.news.yahoo.com/liberia-vp-jewel-howard-taylor-151148393.html|url-status=dead}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=Nancy Doe}}
{{s-ttl|title=First Lady of Liberia|years=1997–2003}}
{{s-aft|after=Nettie Blah}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Joseph Boakai}}
{{s-ttl|title=Vice President of Liberia|years=2018–2024}}
{{s-aft|after=Jeremiah Koung}}
{{s-end}}
{{LiberianVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Jewel}}
Category:Members of the Senate of Liberia
Category:First ladies and gentlemen of Liberia
Category:Cuttington University alumni
Category:Congress for Democratic Change politicians
Category:21st-century Liberian women politicians
Category:National Patriotic Party politicians
Category:People from Bong County
Category:21st-century Liberian politicians
Category:University of Liberia alumni
Category:Vice presidents of Liberia
Category:Women vice presidents in Africa
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