Arthur Barclay
Arthur Barclay | |
---|---|
President of Liberia | |
In office 4 January 1904 – 1 January 1912 | |
Vice President | Joseph D. Summerville J. J. Dossen |
Preceded by | Garretson W. Gibson |
Succeeded by | Daniel Edward Howard |
Personal details | |
Born | True Whig | 31 July 1854
Arthur Barclay (31 July 1854 – 10 July 1938) was the 15th president of Liberia from 1904 to 1912.
Early life and education
Barclay was born at Bridgetown, Barbados, on 31 July 1854, the tenth of twelve children of Anthony and Sarah Barclay. He was the father of Anthony Barclay, who served on the Supreme Court of Liberia, and uncle of the 18th president, Edwin Barclay.
Barclay immigrated to Liberia with his father in 1865.
Career
In 1877, he was appointed principal of the Preparatory Department of his alma mater, which position he held for a number of years, and served during the vacation as chief clerk of the House of Representatives. His later services to the said institution were: professor, member of the board of trustees, and sometimes acting president.
He was called to the bar of Montserrado County in 1877, and after practicing law for three years, he attained the rank of counsellor of the Supreme Court.
His first official position was private secretary to President
In 1885, President Hilary R. W. Johnson appointed him sub-treasurer of Montserrado County, which he held for 5 years.
He was mayor of Monrovia from 1892 to 1902.[2]
In 1892, President
He served upon the following diplomatic commissions:
- In 1893, associated with Senator A. B. King, and William Rothery, he was sent as a commissioner to the World's Fair at Chicago, Illinois, United States.
- In 1897, associated with Council of Foreign Bondholders for the amortization of the loan of 1870, contracted in the administration of President Edward James Roye, which had been in default for over 20 years.
- In 1901, he was associated with Chief Justice Z. B. Roberts and Senator A. B. King on diplomatic missions to England and France.
Presidency (1904–1912)
Arthur Barclay was president from 1904 to 1912. In addition to continued internal unrest, the country faced a severe economic crisis and huge indebtedness to European creditors. In the decades after 1868, escalating economic difficulties weakened the state's dominance over the coastal indigenous population. Conditions worsened, as the cost of imports was far greater than the income generated by exports of coffee, rice, palm oil, sugarcane, and timber. Liberia tried desperately to modernize its largely agricultural economy.
In 1907, while president of the nation, he headed the mission to arrange boundary disputes with the
Death
He died at his home in Monrovia on 10 July 1938.
See also
References
- ISBN 9781461659310.
- ^ Liberia Bulletin, American Colonization Society, 1904
- S2CID 144929842.
Bibliography
- Nathaniel R. Richardson, Liberia's Past and Present. London: The Diplomatic Press and Publishing Company, 1959.