William V.S. Tubman, Jr.

Who is William V.S. Tubman, Jr.?

William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman, Jr. is a Liberian politician and member of the Reformed United Liberia Party. He is the son of William Tubman, who was President of Liberia from 1943 to 1971, and the son-in-law of his father's successor, William R. Tolbert, Jr., whose daughter Wokie he married.

Born in 1931, "Shad" Tubman became nationally prominent in his own right early in life. During the 1950s, his father's influence caused him to be chosen the head of the country's Congress of Industrial Organizations, and he was a senator during the Tubman and Tolbert administrations. Although he was born into a prominent family and grew up as the son of the president, Tubman has compared himself to Moses in the Bible, who was born into privilege but survived extensive difficulties before becoming the leader of his people. Tubman survived the 12 April 1980 military coup d'état that saw the murder of President Tolbert and most of the country's other governmental leaders: he had attended an international governmental conference in Norway and was taking a short break in New York City on his way back when it occurred.