1980 Liberian coup d'état
The 1980 Liberian coup d'état happened on April 12, 1980, when President William Tolbert was overthrown and murdered in a violent coup. The coup was staged by an indigenous Liberian faction of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) under the command of Master Sergeant Samuel Doe. Following a period of transition Doe ruled the country throughout the 1980s until his murder on 9 September 1990 during the First Liberian Civil War.