Facts
Exchange Rate:
Exchange Rates as of December 2005 for the Liberian Dollar (LRD)
1 US Dollar (USD) = 53.0 (LRD)
1 Euro (EUR) = 64.62 (LRD)
1 Japanese Yen = 0.46 (LRD)
1 Chinese Yuan Renminbi = 6.68 (LRD)
1 CFA Franc (BEAC) = 0.097 (LRD)
New Years Day: January 1
Decoration Day : 2nd Wednesday in March
J.J. Robert’s Birthday : 1st President of Liberia March 15
Fast & Prayer Day: 2nd Friday in April
National Unification Day: April 14
National Redemption Day: April 15
Independence Day: July 26 (1847)
Flag Day : August 24
Thanksgiving Day: 1st Thursday in November
W.V.S. Tubman’s Birthday: November 29
Christmas Day: December 25
History
Liberia was founded in 1821, when officials of the
American Colonization Society were granted possession of Cape Mesurado by local De chiefs for the settlement of freed American slaves. African-American immigrants were landed in 1822, the first of some 15,000 to settle in Liberia. The survival of the colony during its early years was due primarily to the work of
Jehudi Ashmun, one of the society's agents. In 1847, primarily due to British pressures, the colony was declared an independent republic. The Americo-Liberian minority controlled the country's politics, and new immigration virtually came to an end with the American Civil War. Liberia was involved in efforts to end the W African slave trade.
Click here to read more !
Government
Liberia is a multiparty republic. The executive branch is headed by a president who is popularly elected for a four-year renewable term. The bicameral legislature consists of a 26-seat senate and a 64-seat house of representatives. The country has a dual legal system based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary tribal law for the indigenous sector. Administratively, Liberia is divided into 15 counties.
