Background
He was born on July 6, 1915, at Greenville, Sinoe in the east of the country, to James E. Greene the late Commissioner for Sinoe County, and Mary Greene- Severe.
He was born on July 6, 1915, at Greenville, Sinoe in the east of the country, to James E. Greene the late Commissioner for Sinoe County, and Mary Greene- Severe.
Educated at St Paul’s High School, Greenville and Liberia College (now the University of Liberia) where he took a BA in 1940 and was later given an honorary LLD.
He started his career as a teacher at Sinoe High School from 1941 to 1949, later becoming Principal (1949-52) and then Superintendent of Sinoe County (1952-61). He also read law and was admitted to the Bar as an attorney in the Third Judicial Circuit, Sinoe County in 1946, becoming a counsellor in the Supreme Court in 1961.
His political career started with his election as a senator for Sinoe in 1961. He became chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee and Enrolled Bills Committee and a member of the Board of Trustees of Liberia University in 1962. By 1963, his personal popularity and ability was such that he was elected national vice-chairman of the True Whg Party in 1963 and later chairman in 1967.He was elected unopposed as Vice-President on April 4, 1972.
A quiet, unassuming and diplomatic teacher and lawyer who rose fast when he took up full-time politics and advanced himself because of his personal popularity in the True Whig Party. A member of many fraternities and lodges. He served in the army for a period, retiring as a lieutenant-colonel in 1952.