Before the First Liberian Civil War broke out in 1989, the county had a population of over 310,000 people. The top executive in the counties is a County Superintendent, appointed by the president of the county. The current County Superintendent, D. Dorr Cooper, who is the chief administrative officer, was appointed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2017. He was re-appointed in 2018 by President George Weah after a change in administrations.