Liberian former warlord Prince Johnson, who oversaw the brutal murder of former president Samuel Doe as civil wars rocked the country before later serving as a senator and political kingmaker, has died at the age of 72.

Liberia's former warlord and senator Prince Johnson, one of the main actors in the country’s horrific civil wars, died at the age of 72.

In a condolence message to his family, President Joseph Boakai – who Johnson supported in his presidential campaign last year – described him as “a figure who played a pivotal role in Liberia's complex historical evolution and contributed to national discourse through his service in the Senate”.

Former Liberian warlord Prince Johnson, a key player in the country's back-to-back civil wars from 1989 to 2003, died Thursday aged 72, officials from his party and the Senate told AFP.