The First Liberian Civil War was the first of two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread corruption led to calls for withdrawal of the support of the United States, by the late 1980s. In December 1989, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor invaded Liberia from Ivory Coast to overthrow Doe, and gained control over most of Liberia within a year.