George Manneh Oppong Weah ( ; born 1 October 1966 ) [ 4 ] is a liberian politician and former professional football player who is presently serving as the 25th President of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County. Often regarded as one of the world ‘s best football players, he played as a hitter in his prolific 18-year professional career, which ended in 2003. [ 5 ] He is the first african former professional football player to become a head of state. [ 6 ] After beginning his career in his dwelling area of Liberia, Weah spent 14 years playing for clubs in France, Italy, and England. Arsène Wenger first brought him to Europe, signing him for Monaco in 1988. Weah moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 1992 where he won Ligue 1 in 1994 and became the peak scorekeeper of the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League. He signed for AC Milan in 1995 where he spent four successful seasons, winning Serie A twice. [ 7 ] He moved to the Premier League towards the end of his career and had spells at Chelsea and Manchester City, winning the FA Cup at the former, before returning to France to play for Marseille in 2001. He ended his career with Al-Jazira in 2003. FourFourTwo named Weah one of the best players never to win the UEFA Champions League. [ 8 ]
Reading: George Weah – Wikipedia
At external level, Weah represented Liberia at the african Cup of Nations on two occasions, winning 75 caps and scoring 18 goals for his area. He played an international friendly in 2018 where his count 14 jersey was retired. Regarded as one of the best players never to have played at the World Cup, [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Scott Murray in The Guardian writes Weah was “ hamstring by hailing from a ball-shaped minnow ”. [ 11 ] widely regarded as one of the greatest african players of all time, in 1995, he was named FIFA World Player of the class and won the Ballon d’Or, becoming the beginning and to date only African player to win these awards. In 1989, 1994 and 1995, he was besides named the African Footballer of the Year, and in 1996, he was named African Player of the Century. Known for his acceleration, speed, and dribbling ability, in addition to his goalscoring and end, Weah was described by FIFA as “ the harbinger of the multi-functional strikers of today ”. [ 12 ] In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world ‘s greatest living players. [ 13 ] Weah became involved in politics in Liberia following his retirement from football. He formed the Congress for democratic Change and ran unsuccessfully for President in the 2005 election, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second cycle of vote. In the 2011 election, he ran unsuccessfully for Vice President alongside Winston Tubman. Weah was subsequently elected to the liberian Senate for Montserrado County in the 2014 elections. Weah was elected President of Liberia in the 2017 election, defeating the incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai, [ 14 ] [ 15 ] and sworn in on 22 January 2018. [ 16 ]
early life and department of education [edit ]
Weah was born and raised in the Clara Town zone of Monrovia. [ 17 ] He is a penis of the Kru heathen group, which hail from south-eastern Liberia ‘s Grand Kru County, one of the poorest areas of the state. [ 18 ] His don, William T. Weah, Sr., [ 19 ] was a machinist [ 20 ] while his mother, Anna Quayeweah ( d. 2013 ), [ 21 ] was a seller. [ 20 ] He has three brothers, William, Moses and Wolo. [ 21 ] He was one of thirteen children largely raised by his devoutly Christian agnate grandma, [ 20 ] [ 17 ] Emma Klonjlaleh Brown after his parents separated [ 17 ] when George was still a baby. [ 20 ] He attended center school at Muslim Congress and high school at Wells Hairston High School, and reportedly dropped out in his concluding year of studies. [ 22 ] He began to play football for the Young Survivors young person club at the old age of 15 and late moved to other local football clubs, assuming starring roles for Mighty Barrolle and Invicible Eleven. [ 17 ] Before his football career allowed him to move afield, Weah worked for the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation as a switchboard technician. [ 18 ]
Club career [edit ]
early career in Liberia, Cameroon, Monaco and France [edit ]
Weah was a real surprise. I have never seen any player explode on to the scenery like he did .
— Arsène Wenger [ 23 ]
After playing in the liberian domestic league at the begin of his successful career and winning respective national honours ( including the liberian Premier League and the liberian Cup ), [ 23 ] Weah ‘s abilities were discovered by the Cameroon national team coach, Claude Le Roy, who relayed the news to Arsène Wenger. Weah moved to Europe in 1988, for just £12,000 from cameroonian golf club Tonnerre Yaoundé, [ 24 ] [ 25 ] when he was signed by Wenger [ 26 ] – the coach of Monaco at the time – who flew to Africa himself prior to the sign language, [ 17 ] and whom Weah credits as an authoritative charm on his career. [ 27 ] During his clock with Monaco, Weah won the African Footballer of the year for the first meter in 1989 ; this was his first major award and he took it back home for the entire country to celebrate. [ 23 ] Weah besides won the Coupe de France in 1991, and he helped Monaco reach the final of the european Cup Winners ‘ Cup in 1992, scoring four goals in nine cup appearances .
Weah subsequently played for Paris Saint-Germain ( 1992–95 ), with whom he won the Coupe de France in 1993 and 1995, the french league in 1994, and the Coupe de la Ligue in 1995 during a highly fecund and successful period ; he besides became the top scorekeeper of the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League, with seven goals, after reaching the semi-finals with the club, one of which was a adept individual “ wonder-goal ” against Bayern Munich in the group stage, on 23 November 1994. [ 23 ] [ 28 ] During his time at the cabaret, he besides managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1992–93 UEFA Cup, and the semi-finals of the 1993–94 european Cup Winners ‘ Cup ; in sum, he scored 16 goals in 25 european games. [ 23 ] In 1994, he won the African Footballer of the Year Award for the irregular time in his career. [ 23 ]
AC Milan and individual success [edit ]
Weah joined AC Milan in 1995, with whom he immediately won the italian league in 1996 under Fabio Capello, playing aboard Roberto Baggio and Dejan Savićević in Milan ‘s attack, equally well as Marco Simone, on occasion, and finishing the season as Milan ‘s lead goalscorer ; he won the Serie A deed once again in 1999. During his prison term with the clubhouse, he besides reached the 1998 Coppa Italia final, and finished as runner-up in the Supercoppa Italiana on two occasions, in 1996 and 1999. [ 7 ] Despite their european authority in the early 1990s, Milan were less successful in Europe during this time, however, with their best result being a quarter-final finish in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup .
Weah with AC Milan at the start of 1996–97 temper Exhibiting skill, athleticism and goalscoring art, Weah became celebrated at Milan for scoring respective luminary goals, in particular a solo goal against Hellas Verona at the San Siro which saw him dexterously control the ball from Verona ‘s corner kick just outside his own penalty sphere, before he set off. [ 29 ] With all his teammates back defending the recess Weah made a beeline for goal, leaving his own teammates in his wake island. [ 29 ] His teammate Zvonimir Boban stated, “ It was an incredible carry. We were thinking, ‘When ‘s he going to stop ? When ‘s he going to stop ? He ‘s not going to stop ! He ‘s never going to stop ! ‘ ”. [ 29 ] Weah finished by rifling the musket ball into the bottom left corner before an exuberant finish celebration. [ 23 ] [ 30 ] ascribable to his performances with both Paris Saint-Germain and Milan, in 1995 Weah was the recipient of several individual awards : he won the Ballon d’Or, the Onze d’Or, and was named FIFA World Player of the year, becoming the foremost and, presently, only native African player, to win these awards ; Weah dedicated his FIFA World Player of the Year victory to his erstwhile coach, Arsène Wenger, stating that it was thanks to him that he was able to develop into a earth class player. [ 31 ] That year, Weah besides won the African Player of the Year Award for the third time in his career, and was named to the Onze de Onze by the french football magazine Onze Mondial. [ 23 ] In 1996, Weah finished second in the FIFA World Player of the Year ranking ; he was besides the recipient of the FIFA Fair Play Award, and was voted the African Player of the Century by sport journalists from around the world. [ 23 ] Weah was banned from six european matches for breaking the nose of the portuguese defender Jorge Costa on 20 November 1996 in the players ‘ burrow after Milan ‘s draw at Porto in the Champions League. Weah said he exploded in frustration after putting up with racist tauntings from Costa during both of the teams ‘ Champions League matches that fall. Costa strenuously denied the accusations of racism and was not charged by UEFA as no witnesses could verify Weah ‘s allegations, not tied his milan teammates. Weah subsequently attempted to apologise to Costa but this was rebuffed by the Portuguese, who considered the charges of racist insults leveled against him to be calumniatory and took Weah to court. [ 32 ] The incident led to Costa undergoing facial surgery and he was subsequently sidelined for three weeks. Despite the incident, Weah silent received the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1996. [ 33 ]
Time in England [edit ]
The most astonishing thing about Weah is that brilliance on the field and generosity off it come in equal measure. He personally bankrolls his national team. Paying for players to travel to matches, supplying kit, and evening offering win bonuses have amounted to tens of thousands of dollars so far. He is his area ‘s best-known ambassador. Back home plate, they call him King George and adore him so much they wish he will one day become president of the united states .
—Amy Lawrence of The Guardian, writing in April 2000. [ 24 ]
Weah signed for Premier League baseball club Chelsea on lend from Milan on 11 January 2000, in a deal which would keep him with the West London club until the end of the 1999–2000 English season. [ 34 ] Although past his prime, Weah ‘s time in England was deemed a success, specially at Chelsea where he instantaneously endeared himself to their fans by scoring the achiever against rivals Tottenham Hotspur on his debut, [ 35 ] and scored further league goals against Wimbledon [ 36 ] and Liverpool. [ 37 ] He besides scored twice in Chelsea ‘s triumphant 1999–2000 FA Cup netting all-important goals against Leicester City [ 38 ] and Gillingham. [ 39 ] This led to him starting in the final, which Chelsea won 1–0. [ 40 ] Chelsea director Gianluca Vialli did not make Weah ‘s move permanent, and, on 1 August 2000, he formally left Milan, and signed for newly promoted Premier League side Manchester City on a loose transmit on a biennial narrow worth £30,000 a week, [ 41 ] declining the offer of a £1 million pay-off from Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. [ 42 ] He played 11 games in all competitions for City, scoring four times, before leaving on 16 October 2000 after becoming dissatisfied with director Joe Royle for selecting him as a ersatz besides frequently ; he had only played the wax 90 minutes in three of his 11 games for the Maine Road baseball club. [ 43 ] At City, he scored once in the league against Liverpool ( as he did at Chelsea ), [ 44 ] and three times against Gillingham ( again as he had at Chelsea ), this time in the League Cup ; once in the first leg [ 45 ] and twice in the second. [ 46 ]
belated career [edit ]
Following his time in England, Weah returned to France and had a spell at Marseille, where he remained until May 2001. He late played with Al-Jazira in the UAE Pro-League, where he remained until his retirement as a player in 2003, at age 37. [ 23 ] He had planned on joining the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer, but elected to join Al-Jazira on a temp footing. [ 47 ]
International career [edit ]
Since making his debut for the Liberia national team against Sierra Leone in 1986, Weah played 75 games over 20 years, scoring 18 goals. [ 48 ] Representing one of the smaller nations in worldly concern football and perennial underdogs, Weah did much to support the national police squad : digression from being the team ‘s star topology actor, he besides later coached the team and even funded his national side to a large extent. Despite his efforts, he was unsuccessful in helping Liberia qualify for a single FIFA World Cup, falling just a point short in qualifying for the 2002 tournament. however, he did help Liberia to qualify for the african Cup of Nations on two occasions : Weah represented his area in the 1996 and 2002 editions of the tournament, although Liberia failed to make it out of their group both times, suffering first-round eliminations. [ 23 ] Weah has been named by several media outlets as one of the best players to never play at the World Cup. [ 9 ] [ 11 ] [ 49 ]
One of the greatest african players of all time, George Weah was, like his namesake George Best before him, hamstring in World Cup terms by hailing from a ball-shaped minnow .Scott Murray writing for The Guardian on Weah’s “stand alone effort” to get his nation to a World Cup.[11]
Weah returned to the national team for a particularly arranged friendly against Nigeria on 11 September 2018, his final examination international appearance, playing at the senesce of 51 while in office as the area ‘s president of the united states. His number 14 shirt, worn at his playing top out, was retired after the friendly, with Weah receiving a standing ovation when he was substituted. [ 50 ]
style of dally [edit ]
Player profile [edit ]
An exceeding goalscorer, it is no hyperbole to describe him as the harbinger of the multi-functional strikers of today. Quick, nice and boasting a knock-down physique, ferocious shooting office and deadly complete skills, in his pomp Liberia ‘s ‘Mr George ‘ was rightly considered one of the giants of the game .
— FIFA profile of George Weah. [ 12 ]
During his prime in the 1990s, Weah was regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. He was lauded for his focal ratio, work-rate, stamina, and attacking instincts, vitamin a well as his physical and athletic attributes, which he combined with his finish, technical ability and creativity. [ 12 ] [ 51 ] A fast, potent, physically strong actor, with an eye for goal, many observers agree that he successfully filled the nothingness left in the Milan attack by club great Marco vanguard Basten. [ 7 ] [ 12 ] [ 24 ] [ 52 ] In addition to his pace, acceleration, dribbling skills, and goalscoring ability, as a multi-functional fore Weah was besides a team-player who was capable of creating chances and assisting goals for teammates. [ 53 ] [ 54 ]
Pictured with AC Milan in November 1995, Weah taking on Parma defenders ( including Fabio Cannavaro to the right ) outside the penalty sphere Along with Ronaldo and Romário, Weah was viewed as a modern, new style of striker in the 1990s who would besides operate outside the penalty area and run with the ball towards goal, at a time when strikers primarily operated inside the punishment sphere where they would receive the ball from teammates. [ 12 ] [ 55 ] [ 56 ] Among the future generation of strikers who were inspired, Thierry Henry states, “ George Weah, Romário, and Ronaldo changed the game for me. It was the first gear time as a hitter I saw players that could score on their own. Pick the ball up anywhere and mark. Before as a count nine, people would say ‘ quell within the channel of the corner, don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate move excessively much, don ’ triiodothyronine go to the wings, preceptor ’ thymine drop, stay. ’ then I saw George Weah. And then I saw Ronaldo. And I saw Romário in a different way before those two. And it was like ‘ attend on a minute, person has lied to me ’. ” [ 57 ] One such goal that exemplified this ability was against Verona in 1995 where he received the ball in the border of his own penalty box and ran the distance of the playing field. [ 24 ] Scoring such a goal in Serie A – the best defensive league in the worldly concern – saw media outlets such as Gazzetta dello Sport running pages of analysis for days afterwards, and calling it the greatest mint of all in italian football. [ 24 ] On his shock on the sport, Weah states, “ When I look at my idols – Pelé, Maradona, Beckenbauer, Cruyff – they did a batch of capital things. I came into the game and made history excessively. ” [ 24 ]
reception [edit ]
The best musician on the planet, at his peak in 1995 he reigned as global, African and European football player of the year, a trio of crowns never worn simultaneously before or since .
— Amy Lawrence in The Guardian on The wonder of Weah. [ 24 ]
Named african Footballer of the Year three times and the inaugural African to win the Ballon d’Or and be named FIFA World Player of the Year, Weah ‘s bulge in the 1990s led him to be nicknamed “ King George ”. Regarded as one of the greatest african footballers of all time, [ 11 ] [ 58 ] Weah was named African Player of the Century in 1996, [ 59 ] and is normally ranked among the three greatest african strikers ever, aboard Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o. [ 60 ] [ 61 ] In 2013, Milan capital Franco Baresi named Weah in the greatest eleven he has ever played with. [ 62 ] FourFourTwo magazine named Weah one of the best players never to win the UEFA Champions League. [ 8 ] A act of publications, including Scott Murray of The Guardian and Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times, in summation to FIFA, consider him to be one of the greatest players never to feature at the World Cup. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] The condition of Weah in the sport saw him feature in EA Sports ‘ FIFA video crippled series where he was named in the Ultimate Team Legends in FIFA 14. [ 63 ] During his playing career Weah was sponsored by sportswear company Diadora, and he became celebrated for his bolshevik Diadora boots while playing for AC Milan. [ 64 ]
career statistics [edit ]
club [edit ]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Super Cup | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Monaco | 1988–89 | Division 1 | 23 | 14 | 10 | 1 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 38 | 17 | ||
| 1989–90 | Division 1 | 17 | 5 | — | — | 7 | 3 | — | 24 | 8 | ||||
| 1990–91 | Division 1 | 29 | 10 | 6 | 5 | — | 5 | 3 | — | 40 | 18 | |||
| 1991–92 | Division 1 | 34 | 18 | 4 | 1 | — | 9 | 4 | — | 47 | 23 | |||
| Total | 103 | 47 | 20 | 7 | — | 26 | 12 | — | 149 | 66 | ||||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1992–93 | Division 1 | 30 | 14 | 6 | 2 | — | 9 | 7 | — | 45 | 23 | ||
| 1993–94 | Division 1 | 32 | 11 | 3 | 2 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 40 | 14 | |||
| 1994–95 | Division 1 | 34 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 8 | — | 53 | 18 | ||
| Total | 96 | 32 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 16 | — | 138 | 55 | |||
| AC Milan | 1995–96 | Serie A | 26 | 11 | 3 | 1 | — | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 15 | |
| 1996–97 | Serie A | 28 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 3 | — | 35 | 16 | |||
| 1997–98 | Serie A | 24 | 10 | 8 | 3 | — | — | — | 32 | 13 | ||||
| 1998–99 | Serie A | 26 | 8 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 30 | 9 | ||||
| 1999–2000 | Serie A | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 5 | ||
| Total | 114 | 46 | 19 | 5 | — | 12 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 147 | 58 | |||
| Chelsea (loan) | 1999–2000 | Premier League | 11 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 15 | 5 | |||
| Manchester City | 2000–01 | Premier League | 7 | 1 | — | 2 | 3 | — | — | 9 | 4 | |||
| Marseille | 2000–01 | Division 1 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 5 | |||
| Total | 350 | 134 | 58 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 63 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 478 | 193 | ||
International [edit ]
- Scores and results list Liberia’s goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Weah goal.
Honours [edit ]
Mighty Barrolle
Read more: Midfielder – Wikipedia
Invincible Eleven
- Liberian Premier League: 1986–87
Monaco
Paris Saint-Germain
AC Milan
Chelsea
Liberia
Individual
humanitarianism [edit ]
Weah is a give human-centered for his war-torn country. During his playing career he became a UN Goodwill Ambassador. [ 87 ] At the 2004 ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles, Weah won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for his efforts. [ 88 ] He has besides been named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, [ 89 ] a character which he has suspended in his political career. [ 90 ] Off the football pitch, he stood out throughout his career for his initiatives to fight against racism in the bet on. [ 91 ]
Weah has tried to use football as a way to bring happiness and promote education for children in Liberia. In 1998, Weah launched a candle called Lively Up Africa featuring the singer Frisbie Omo Isibor and eight early African football stars. The proceeds from this cadmium went to children ‘s programmes in the countries of origin of the athletes involved. [ 92 ] Weah was President of the Junior Professionals, a early football team he founded in Monrovia in 1994. As a way to encourage young people to remain in school, the cabaret ‘s lone necessity for membership was school attendance. Many of the new people, recruited from all over Liberia, went on to play for the liberian national team. [ 93 ] Weah was besides actively involved with young programs in a liberian enclave on Staten Island, New York, when he resided there for a time. [ 94 ]
The Diya Group chair and amerind entrepreneur Nirav Tripathi announced a multimillion-dollar partnership with George Weah in 2016, whereby global football academies would be established to help assist youth in both destitute and emerging nations. The motivation for the academies is cited as a share have between both Tripathi and Weah in how sport can transform lives in their nations of India and Liberia, which both still suffer from severe poverty .
political career [edit ]
Following the end of the Second Liberian Civil War, Weah announced his purpose to run for President of Liberia in the 2005 elections, forming the Congress for democratic Change to back his campaigning. While Weah was a popular human body in Liberia, opponents cited his miss of formal education as a hindrance to his ability to lead the state, in contrast with his Harvard -educated adversary, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Analysts besides noted Weah ‘s lack of experience, calling him a “ babe-in-the-woods ”, while Sirleaf had served as minister of finance in the Tolbert administration in the 1970s and had held positions at Citibank, the World Bank and the United Nations. Weah ‘s eligibility to run for Presidency was besides called into question as it was reported that he had become a french citizen in his footballing career at Paris St. Germain, but these complaints were rebuffed by the electoral commission in court and Weah was allowed to proceed. [ 96 ] Weah obtained a plurality of votes in the first round of voting on 11 October, garnering 28.3 % of the vote. This qualified him to compete in a run-off election against Sirleaf, the second place candidate. however, he lost the run-off to Sirleaf on 8 November, garnering only 40.6 % to 59.4 % for Sirleaf. Weah alleged that the election had been rigged through voter intimidation and ballot tamper, and many of his supporters protested the results in the streets of Monrovia. however, after assurances that the vote was fair, respective big african leaders called on Weah ‘s supporters to accept the solution with decorate and dignity, and Sirleaf became President. The African Union had characterized the elections as “ peaceful, guileless, and carnival ”. [ 97 ] Weah ‘s miss of education became a campaign consequence. He has been highly critical of those who say he is not paroxysm to govern : “ With all their department of education and experience, they have governed this nation for hundreds of years. They have never done anything for the nation. ” He initially claimed to have a BA degree in Sports Management from Parkwood University in London, however this is an unaccredited diploma grind, which awards certificates without requiring study. [ 98 ] Weah then pursued a degree in occupation administration at DeVry University in Miami. [ 99 ] [ 100 ]
Weah besides remained active in liberian politics, returning from the United States in 2009 to successfully campaign for the Congress for democratic Change candidate in the Montserrado County senatorial by-election. [ 101 ] Some analysts saw these moves as preparation for a repeat run for the Presidency in 2011, [ 102 ] and Weah did indeed later announce his intention to challenge Sirleaf in the 2011 election. [ 103 ] After a series of fail alliances with other enemy parties, the Congress for democratic Change chose Weah as its 2011 vice presidential candidate, running with presidential campaigner Winston Tubman. [ 104 ] however, Sirleaf was re-elected, with the Tubman / Weah ticket receiving only 9.3 % of the vote. In 2014, he ran for election to the Senate as a Congress for democratic Change candidate in Montserrado County. He was overwhelmingly elected to the liberian Senate on 20 December 2014. Weah defeated Robert Sirleaf, the son of President Sirleaf, becoming the first base liberian external athlete elected to represent a county in the Legislature. He won a landslide victory, receiving 99,226 votes, which represented 78.0 % of the sum votes from the 141 poll centers, while Sirleaf, his closest equal received 13,692 votes, which is about 11 % in the election marred only by a first gear turnout. [ 105 ] [ 106 ] Following his election, Weah only occasionally serve sessions of the Senate and did not introduce or sponsor any legislation. [ 107 ] In April 2016, Weah announced his intention to run for President of Liberia in the 2017 elections, [ 87 ] standing for the Coalition for democratic Change. After winning the first base beat of the 2017 election with 38.4 % of the vote, he and Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party went into the second orotund of the election. In the second base round, Weah was elected President of Liberia, winning a run-off against Vice President Joseph Boakai with more than 60 % of the vote. [ 108 ]
President of Liberia [edit ]
President Weah in 2019 Weah was sworn in as president of the united states on 22 January 2018, making him the fourth youngest-serving president in Africa, [ 109 ] marking Liberia ‘s beginning democratic conversion in 74 years. [ 110 ] He cited fighting corruption, reforming the economy, combating illiteracy and improving life sentence conditions as the main targets of his presidency. [ 110 ] Two other world class african strikers, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o, attended the inauguration. [ 111 ]
domestic policy [edit ]
On 29 January 2018, in his first annual message to the home legislature, he reduced his wage and other benefits by 25 % with immediate effect. “ With the judgment that I gave you earlier of the poor condition of our economy, I believe that it is appropriate that we should all make sacrifices in the interest of our area. According to Article 60 of the Constitution, the salaries of the President and the Vice President are established by the Legislature, and can not be increased or reduced during the period for which they are elected. however, in watch of the very quickly deteriorating situation of the economy, I am informing you today, with immediate effect, that I will reduce my wage and benefits by 25 % and give the proceeds back to the Consolidated Fund for allotment and annexation as they see fit. ” [ 112 ] On 29 January 2018, Weah announced he would seek constituent changes to allow people of “ non-Negro ” descent to be citizens and allow foreigners to own country. He called the give situation “ racist and inappropriate ”. [ 113 ]
alien policy [edit ]
Upon his election to office, Weah beginning made an official chew the fat in Senegal to meet with President Macky Sall, to “ strengthen the adhesiveness between the two countries ”. On 21 February 2018, Weah made his first official visit outside Africa, to France, meeting french President Emmanuel Macron. The merging focused on improving the relationship between France and Liberia and besides sought French help for a sports development project in Africa. The meeting was besides attended by Didier Drogba, Kylian Mbappé and FIFA president Gianni Infantino. [ 114 ] On 25 May 2018, following a meet with President Weah, the Liberian Football Association president of the united states Musa Bility announced that Liberia would vote for the Canada–Mexico–United States World Cup wish, breaking ranks with the perch of Africa, who were voting for the Moroccan offer. [ 115 ]
criticism [edit ]
As President, Weah has come under criticism for inciting violence on opposition candidates including Telia Urey in 2019. [ 116 ]
sung [edit ]
On 25 March 2020, the liberian president recorded his song with the local group The Rabbis, the text of which was written by himself. In this sung “ He invites the liberian and african population to stand up by all means against this virus [ SARS-CoV-2 ] which is causing damage around the worldly concern. ” [ 117 ] [ 118 ]
It could be your ma, it could be your dad, your brothers or your sisters. Let ‘s all stand together to fight this dirty virus an extract from President Weah ‘s song on a reggae rhythm. The majority of people in Liberia do not have internet or Facebook entree, but everyone listens to the radio. The sung will be played on diverse stations across the country to properly broadcast the message, according to the president ‘s spokesperson. [ 119 ] [ 120 ]
George Weah had already recorded a sung against Ebola. [ 119 ]
personal animation [edit ]
Weah has four children ; three children with his Jamaican-born [ 121 ] wife Clar Weah : George, Tita, and Timothy and a child from another kinship. In 2016 he was sued by the mother of his daughter for child support expenses [ 122 ] Both of his sons became footballers and signed for Paris Saint-Germain, [ 123 ] although only Timothy played for the first team. [ 124 ] Both played young internationals for the United States, [ 125 ] and Timothy was capped for the senior team. [ 126 ] Weah practised Islam for ten years before converting back to Christianity. [ 127 ] presently, Weah again practises Protestantism. [ 128 ] In October 2017, he was spotted in the outstanding nigerian church of Pastor T.B. Joshua alongside Liberian Senator Prince Yormie Johnson. [ 129 ] Joshua was allegedly a key influence in Johnson ‘s decision to endorse Weah ‘s campaigning in the 2017 liberian elections. [ 130 ] [ 131 ] He holds french citizenship and speaks the language fluently. [ 132 ]
See besides [edit ]
References [edit ]
Read more: Azerbaijan Premier League