Liberia

As head of state and government, the president is the commander in chief and wields complete authority over the nation's armed forces.  

When Joseph N. Boakai took the oath of office in January 2024, he inherited a defense sector that had already traveled a long road from the disbanded militias of the civil-war years to today’s compact, professional force. As commander-in-chief, Boakai has pledged to deepen reforms rather than expand numbers—a theme that has shaped every major...