Charles D. B. King | |
|---|---|
 1927 Autochrome by Auguste Léon | |
| 17th President of Liberia | |
| In office 5 January 1920 – 3 December 1930 | |
| Vice President | Samuel Alfred Ross (1920–1924) Henry Too Wesley (1924–1928) Allen Yancy (1928–1930) |
| Preceded by | Daniel E. Howard |
| Succeeded by | Edwin Barclay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 March 1875 Monrovia, Liberia |
| Died | 4 September 1961 (aged 86) Monrovia, Liberia |
| Political party | True Whig |
| Relations | Olubanke King Akerele (granddaughter) |
Charles Dunbar Burgess King (12 March 1875 – 4 September 1961) was a Liberian politician who served as the 17th president of Liberia from 1920 to 1930. He was of Americo-Liberian and Sierra Leone Creole descent. He was a member of the True Whig Party, which ruled the country from 1878 until 1980.
King was Attorney General from 1904 until 1912, and Secretary of State of Liberia from 1912 until he was elected president in 1919. In this capacity, he attended the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and the accompanying First Pan-African Congress. Though a moderate supporter of reform, he continued to support the patronage machine and corrupt dominance of the True Whig Party.
President King's administration was marked by scandal. His economic agenda and development plan consistently fell short of expectations; and while literacy rates increased with broader access to public education, his presidency is best known for a string of political scandals and economic setbacks.
In 1927, he won the presidential election with over 15 times more votes than there were electors, causing concern for a rigged and corrupt election, but a forced labor and slavery scandal forced his resignation in 1930. Charles King resigned in disgrace and retired from seeking higher office thereafter until his death. His presidency was marked by extreme corruption, nepotism for the hiring of officials rather than by skill, and a lack of transparency regarding the decisions his administration was making regarding the welfare of the people and use of slave labor.