True Whig Party

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True Whig Party Liberian Whig Party
Abbreviation	TWP
Leader	Reginald Goodridge
Historic leaders	Edward James Roye Anthony W. Gardiner William Tubman William Tolbert Clarence Lorenzo Simpson
Founded	1869 (1869) (first incarnation)
Dissolved	April 1980 (first incarnation)
Preceded by	Opposition Party
Merged into	Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia
Headquarters	Monrovia, Montserrado County, Liberia
Ideology	Black conservatism[1] Centralization Protectionism Whiggism (until 1940s)
Political position	Right-wing
Colors	Green   Yellow
Historical ethnic affiliation	Americo-Liberians
Seats in the Senate	0 / 30
Seats in the House	0 / 73
Party flag
Politics of Liberia Political parties Elections

The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest political party in Liberia and one of the oldest parties in Africa. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-Liberians in rural areas, its historic rival was the Republican Party. Following the decline of the latter, it dominated Liberian politics from 1878 until 1980. The nation was virtually governed as a one-party state under the TWP, although opposition parties were never outlawed.^[2][3]

Initially, its ideology was strongly influenced by that of the United States Whig Party (from which it took its name). Much of the TWP's support came from the Americo-Liberian community who held an influential position over Liberian politics and society. The TWP's long term leader and President William Tubman was widely regarded as the father of modern Liberia.

The TWP fell out of power following the 1980 Liberian coup d'état in which many of its leading members died or fled, ending its dominant position. The TWP ceased to be officially recognized following the coup, although it was never disbanded and continued as a rump party. The party went on to participate in the unsuccessful Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL) ahead of the 2005 general election before de-coalition and winning fewer votes at the 2017 elections.