Anthony W. Gardiner
| Anthony William Gardiner | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 9th President of Liberia | |
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In office January 7, 1878 – January 20, 1883 |
|
| Vice President | Alfred Francis Russell |
| Preceded by | James Spriggs-Payne |
| Succeeded by | Alfred F. Russell |
| 7th Vice President of Liberia | |
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In office January 1, 1872 – January 3, 1876 |
|
| President | Joseph Jenkins Roberts |
| Preceded by | James Skivring Smith |
| Succeeded by | Charles Harmon |
| 1st Attorney General of Liberia | |
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In office 1848–1855 |
|
| President | Joseph Jenkins Roberts |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 3, 1820 Southampton County, Virginia, United States |
| Died | 1885 |
| Political party | True Whig |
Anthony William Gardiner (1820–1885) served as the ninth President of Liberia from 1878 until 1883. He was the first of a series of True Whig presidents who held power uninterruptedly until 1980.
Gardiner was born in Southampton County, Virginia in the United States. In 1831, when he was still a child, his family relocated to Liberia under the sponsorship of the American Colonization Society. Gardiner received his law degree in Liberia and, in 1847, he served as a delegate to the National Convention, which drafted Liberia's declaration of independence and constitution. He became Liberia's first attorney general and later served in the National Legislature from 1855 to 1871.
In May 1871, he was elected vice-president and was elected once again, serving until 1876. During the incapacitation of President J. J. Roberts from 1875 until early 1876, Gardiner was also acting president.
Less than two years after leaving office as acting president, Gardiner won election to the presidency, taking office in 1878. In the same election, the True Whig Party won a massive victory and proceeded to dominate Liberian politics until the coup d'état in 1980, which brought in a Krahn-dominated military dictatorship. Gardiner himself was re-elected to two further two-year terms.
The decades after 1868, escalating economic difficulties weakened the state's dominance over the coastal indigenous population. Conditions worsened, 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. As president, Gardiner called for increased trade with and investment from outside countries, improved public education, and closer relations with Liberia's native peoples. However, his policies were overshadowed by the ramifications of the European powers "scramble for Africa".
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