Willis Knuckles

Willis DeFrancis Knuckles Jr. (June 29, 1946 – July 28, 2014) was a Liberian politician. In 2006, Knuckles was appointed minister of public works by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Later that same year, he was made acting minister of state for presidential affairs after a cabinet reshuffle. In 2007, Knuckles resigned as acting minister due to a sex scandal.

Biography Willis Knuckles was born on June 29, 1946, in Montserrado County. Knuckles received a high school diploma from the College of West Africa in 1963. He graduated from Cuttington College with a B.S. in physical sciences in 1967. He attended Columbia University but did not graduate. During his college career, he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Knuckles married Hawa Sherman in 1969. The couple had children and foster children.

Knuckles helped reorganize the LFA. In 1988, he founded a paper, Sports World, which was discontinued in 1990 due to the outbreak of the First Liberian Civil War. Knuckles was initially denied confirmation by the Senate, but was confirmed following a motion of reconsideration. Following the July 26 Executive Mansion fire, President Sirleaf reshuffled her cabinet. Knuckles was appointed as acting minister of state for presidential affairs, replacing Morris Dukuly.

On February 20, 2007, the Independent Newspaper published a photo of Knuckles at a sex party with two women. Knuckles would apologize to President Sirleaf and his family in the wake of the photo's release. The ruling Unity Party would publicly stand by Knuckles during the scandal. Sam Dean, managing editor editor of the Independent Newspaper went into hiding following the ban, alleging his and some of his workers' lives were threatened by government agents. In a speech on February 26, President Sirleaf announced the resignation of Knuckles over the scandal. In May, the ban on the Independent Newspaper would be lifted after the government lost a lawsuit.

After resigning as minister, Knuckles mostly exited public life. Knuckles died on July 28, 2014, in Accra, Ghana, after brief illness. In 2014, the Alpha Oldtimers Sports Association named a sport stadium in Paynesville in honor of Knuckles. Knuckles was a founding member of the association in 1970, and had served as its president.