Jewel Taylor Explained

Jewel Taylor
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
Successor1:Henrique Tokpa[1]
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:17 January 1963
Birth Place:Zorzor, Lofa, Liberia
Party:Coalition for Democratic Change
Otherparty:National Patriotic Party
Alma Mater:University of Liberia
Cuttington University
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.[2] 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.[3]

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. On 21 December 2011, she graduated from the Louise Arthur Grimes School of Law of the state-owned University of Liberia.[4] 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",[5] 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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

Notes and References

  1. News: Election: Joseph, Tokpa Replace Weah, Taylor at Senate. Liberian Observer. David S.. Menjor. 6 August 2018. 8 January 2019. 9 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201009013135/https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/jospeh-tokpa-replace-taylor-weah-at-senate/. dead.
  2. Web site: Jewel Howard-Taylor on war, Weah and her agenda. www.aljazeera.com. 2020-02-28.
  3. http://www.kas-benin.de/liberia/Profiles_2005_52nd_Legislature-Liberia.pdf A Profile of Members of the 52nd Legislature of Liberia
  4. Web site: Alumni – Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law. https://web.archive.org/web/20170510172747/http://www.lagsl.edu.lr/about/alumni/. dead. 10 May 2017. 2020-08-25. www.lagsl.edu.lr.
  5. "Madam Suakoko! Sen. Taylor Receives Traditional Honor". The Analyst 2011-12-29: 1, 2.
  6. "Sen. Taylor's Traditional Honor Backfires", The New Republic, 2012-01-20. Accessed 2013-01-13.
  7. News: Liberia ex-first lady proposes anti-gay bill. Africa Review. 2017-12-20. en-UK. 9 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180409111829/http://www.africareview.com/News/-/979180/1328770/-/gn8vwuz/-/index.html. dead.
  8. Web site: Liberia VP Jewel Howard-Taylor flown to Ghana for Covid-19 treatment. 2020-08-20. ca.news.yahoo.com. en-CA. 12 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200812181256/https://ca.news.yahoo.com/liberia-vp-jewel-howard-taylor-151148393.html. dead.