The Political Trail of Charles Taylor

1980

The president of Liberia, William Tolbert, is overthrown by Sergeant Samuel Doe after food price riots. Charles Taylor is given the job of running the general services agency, where he controls much of Liberia's budget. Mr Taylor later falls out with President Doe, who accuses him of embezzling almost $1m.

1989

Taylor invades Liberia with about 100 Libyan-trained troops, quickly gaining the support of the groups that had suffered under Mr Doe.

1990

A rival warlord, Prince Yormie Johnson, seizes, tortures and executes Mr Doe in front of video cameras. But the end of Mr Doe's corrupt, abusive regime fails to bring about stable democratic government. Mr Johnson and Mr Taylor turn on each other, plunging Liberia into seven years of horrific civil war.

1997

Mr Taylor is elected president amid fears that conflict would resume if he lost. His slogan during the campaign was: "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him".

1999

Liberia's second civil war breaks out as rebels launch attacks in the north. Mr Taylor accuses Guinea of supporting the rebellion. Ghana, Nigeria and others accuse Mr Taylor of backing the Revolutionary United Front led by the notorious Foday Sankoh - the two men know each other from Libya where they received guerrilla training in the 1980s - in an equally vicious civil war in Sierra Leone.

2000

British, Guinean and United Nations troops intervene to crush the RUF, notorious for hacking off the hands and legs of civilians. Mr Sankoh is arrested and handed over to the British. He is eventually indicted along with Mr Taylor and others for their role in the Sierra Leone conflict.

2002

The special court for Sierra Leone is established by agreement between the UN and Sierra Leone. The court has a mandate to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law" in Sierra Leone since 1996. The crimes include killings, mutilations, rape and other forms of sexual violence, sexual slavery, the recruitment and use of child soldiers, abduction, and the use of forced labour by armed groups.

2003

Under international pressure to quit and hemmed in by rebels, Mr Taylor steps down and goes into exile in Nigeria. The special court issues an arrest warrant for Mr Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the civil war in Sierra Leone. He is charged on the basis of his alleged role as a major backer of the RUF and close association with a second warring faction, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. Mr Sankoh dies from a stroke while awaiting trial.

2006

Mr Taylor is handed over to the court for trial after being arrested while trying to flee Nigeria. After the special court's request, the Netherlands agrees to the trial being held in The Hague amid fears that a trial in Freetown, Sierra Leone, would trigger unrest.

2007

Mr Taylor becomes the first African head of state to go on trial for serious crimes before an international criminal court.