The Honorable Joseph N. Boakai is a purpose driven and focused patriotic individual who believes in putting country first above all else. He is a quiet individual who is passionately devoted to his country and its rules of law. His profile as a policy champion and advocate for the development of the agricultural sector has been built up over a lifetime of hard work and devotion to duty.  "I was born into the struggle and know what it means to serve humanity in whatever way God leads me," he says. He was born in the remote village of Worsonga in the Foya District, Lofa County, on November 30, 1944.  He rose from humble beginnings to attain enviable positions in Government and the private sectors.

The Vice President has served with dedication and distinction his country for more than 37 years. During these years his activities have centered on positions in Government, marketing and agricultural project management, civic self-help services and private business as well as in the educational sector.

He has served Liberia in the capacity of Vice President with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf since their election three years ago, putting Africa’s oldest Republic on a steady course for economic rebound, infrastructural development and peace and political stability.
The Vice President, pursuant to Article 58 of the Liberian Constitution, assists the President of the Republic of Liberia in running the day-to-day affairs of the country. In line with this constitutional mandate and with the acquiescence of the President, Vice President Joseph Boakai provides key oversight and advice to several agencies and governmental entities including the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE), Liberia Marketing Association (LMA), the Liberia National Lotteries (LNL), National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDRR), the Monrovia Transit Authority (MTA), certain key programs in the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the National AIDS Control Program (NACP). His guidance and supervision provided to these institutions have further strengthened their institutional and deliverable capacities.

As the Vice President, Hon. Boakai engages in a series of activities, ranging from representing the President at several national, regional and international conferences and seminars; visiting the leeward counties to acquaint himself with problems confronting the rural population; and helping articulate Government’s policies and plans.

He holds talks with local and international non-governmental organizations, individuals and business institutions that are interested in exploring the investment climate in Liberia as a way of buttressing the President’s efforts in the nation’s re-building process.

He is President of the Liberian Senate and accordingly, presides weekly over plenary sessions of that body.

Hon. Boakai has served his country as Chief Executive Officer and the first Liberian Resident Manager of the Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation (LPMC) from 1973-1980; Managing Director of the Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation (LPMC) from 1980-1982; Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC) in 1992; and Minister of Agriculture from 1983-1985. As Resident Manager of the LPMC, he was responsible for export marketing of coffee, cocoa and palm kernel oil and also responsible for arranging purchase, shipment and handling of the     PL-480 program from 1980-1984.

Serving as Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Joseph Boakai, among his duties and responsibilities, was responsible for national agricultural policy formation, Implementation Support and Research, and Regulatory Services. He monitored activities and chaired many boards of over 20 agricultural development projects, the Agricultural Cooperative Development Bank, and support institutions. He also chaired for one year a 15-nation West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) and toured research projects of WARDA in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea Bissau. He also toured several agricultural projects in Denmark, Belgium, Great Britain, Malaysia and Ivory Coast in connection with poultry, cattle grazing, rubber and oil palm production and processing and assisted in the first PL-480 program evaluations for Liberia.

The Vice President’s unbridled passion for agriculture is buttresses his strong desire to see Liberia become self-sufficient in food production. “Of all the programs out there, agriculture has the most potential to make the greatest impact on the lives of our people,” the Vice President is often quoted as saying.

In the civic and self-help sector, as part of his philanthropic support to humanity, Hon. Boakai supervised and personally financed up to 75% of a seven-mile rural village road construction to Warsonga, Liberia. He worked with the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) and the Danish Youth to construct a school for 150 students and clinic for a community of 10 villages. He influenced the establishment of the OIC project in Foya Kama, Liberia, and organized & headed fund raising for rural electrification of Foya Kama in Lofa County, Northern Liberia.

As a result of his vast knowledge in the social sciences, the Honorable Vice President offered short-term consultancy to a number of institutions, including serving as Chief Technical Advisor on Agriculture Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture. He reviewed and evaluated the Liberian 1986 proposed Green Revolution and F.A.O. World Bank 1986 Agricultural Sector Review Document and evaluated AMSCO, an Amsterdam funded training program for projects in Uganda in 1994 and Tanzania in 1996.

Hon. Boakai has served as member and chairman of many boards, including the Liberia Finance and Trust Corporation; Star Radio; LOIC; Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary; Bethesda Christian Mission; Monrovia College Advisory Board; Monrovia YMCA; LUSU Resource Corporation; and the Rotary Club of Monrovia. Hon. Boakai helped to found the African Episcopal University and the United Methodist University.

A graduate of the University of Liberia where he read Business Administration, Vice President Boakai has also completed studies in Grain Storage and Marketing from Kansas State University and received an Advanced Management Certificate (GIMPA) from Ghana.  He is fluent in Mendi and Kissi.

The Vice President has been happily married to Mrs. Katumu Yatta Boakai since July 29, 1972. The union is blessed with four children.