Samuel Benedict (c. 1792–1854) was a Liberian politician and jurist who served as the 1st Chief Justice of Liberia.
[4] Prior to Liberia's independence, Benedict was a judge of the Superior Court and a merchant.
[5] He later presided over the Liberian Constitutional Convention of 1847, which officially declared Liberia's independence from the American Colonization Society.
[6][7] He was one of Montserrado County's delegates at the convention and a signer of the Liberian Declaration of Independence.
[7] Representing the Anti-Administration Party (AAP), Benedict was defeated by longtime political foe Joseph Jenkins Roberts in the 1847 election to serve as Liberia's first president.