Charles Gyude Bryant (born January 17, 1949) has been the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia since October 14, 2003. The installation of the transitional government was part of the peace agreement to end the country's second civil war, which had raged since the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebelled against President Charles Taylor in 1999. Bryant was previously a businessman and was chosen as chairman because he was seen as politically neutral and therefore acceptable to each of the warring factions, which included LURD, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, and loyalists of former President Taylor. He is a prominent member of the Episcopal Church of Liberia , and was critical of the governments of Samuel Doe (1980–1990) and Taylor (1997–2003).