Passion or Profession: President

Period: 1948–

In 1989, Taylor led his National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) rebel group in an uprising against President Samuel Doe, sparking a civil war that lasted until 1996. Taylor won a presidential election in July 1997 but faced armed opposition from rebel groups. A peace treaty in 2003 forced him into exile in Nigeria. In March 2006, he was extradited to Sierra Leone to face a war crimes court, which accused him of supporting Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels during his presidency and of fomenting war and instability throughout the region.