Insights from selected Liberian Independence Day Orations pertinent to the historical development of the Republic of Liberia and its challenges and opportunities

This book provides a one – stop source of literary resource gleaned from a number of Liberian Independence Day Orations that span selected years interspersed over the period 1855 – 2000. The orations may serve as a source for scholarly inquiry as they cover multiple themes that are germane to the evolution of the country. In general, the orators provide important contextual information and varied insights and perspectives about the country’s social, political and economic development. For example, the orations address the historical and current challenges of nation-building in general. More specifically, they illuminate such issues as: (i) Liberia’s survival as a small state surrounded by Western colonial powers; (ii) challenges and opportunities in the quest for social integration and economic development; (iii) the centrality of education, agriculture, trade, commerce, industry, other sectors and related factors for development, as well as the role of women and the youth in the development process. They also include perspectives on the inclusion of the masses and freedom of the press in the nation-building process, overarching governance issues and the post-civil war challenges for recovery and aspirations for the future.

Anthony Barclay, a Liberian national, studied and worked in the area of national and international development for over a period of 35 years. He held the position of Senior Advisor to the Executive Director for Africa Group 1 (EDS14) at the World Bank Group in Washington DC, USA where he also served as an Executive Board Official from 2009 to 2017. Before joining the World Bank, he held several senior-level positions at ECOWAS in Abuja, Nigeria and the African Capacity Building Foundation in Harare, Zimbabwe. In Liberia, he served as National Economist and subsequently Economic Specialist at UNDP/Liberia. He also held other positions including Executive Director at the Central Bank of Liberia, Associate Professor and Director of the Office of Planning and Institutional Development at the University of Liberia and Development Specialist at the Liberian Institute of Public Administration. He was educated in Liberia and the United States of America. He holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning with a minor in Economics, a Masters in Public Policy and Administration with specialization in economic development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA and Bachelors in Economics from Cuttington College, currently Cuttington University in Suakoko, Bong County, Liberia. He has a number of publications on socioeconomic development issues and is a published poet.