Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (1938-) is President of Liberia and Africa’s first elected female head of state.
Born in Monrovia, Liberia, Johnson-Sirleaf is the descendant of original colonists of Liberia, AMERICO-LIBERIANS, formerly enslaved African-Americans who immigrated in the 1800s to Liberia.
She married James Sirleaf at the age of 17, and traveled to America in 1961 where she earned a B.B.A. in accounting at Madison Business College in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1964, an economics diploma from the University of Colorado in 1970, and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1971.
In 1979, following her return to Liberia, Johnson-Sirleaf became involved in government as an Assistant Minister of Finance for PRESIDENT WILLIAM TOLBERT. She later resigned after getting into a disagreement about spending. The following year,MASTER SERGEANT SAMUEL DOE seized power in a military coup and Tolbert was executed with several members of his cabinet. Johnson-Sirleaf escaped and went into exile in Nairobi, Kenya. From 1983 to 1985, she served as director of Citibank in Nairobi. When Doe declared himself president, she decided to return home and run against him. She spoke out against the military regime and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. After a short period, though, she was released and went into exile once again.
She moved to Washington, D.C., and from 1992 to 1997, she worked as assistant administrator, then Director, of the UN Development Program Regional Bureau for Africa. By 1996, Samuel Doe had been killed and Liberia had been through four un-elected officials. West African peacekeepers were in Liberia, and elections were held which forced Johnson-Sirleaf to return. She lost the election to CHARLES TAYLOR in the 1997 election, and he charged her with treason.
Within the next two years, civil war had returned and Taylor handed power over to his deputy MOSES BLAH in 2003. The new interim government and rebel groups signed a historic peace accord and set about installing a new head of state. Johnson-Sirleaf was mentioned as a possible candidate, but CHARLES GYUDE BRYANT was ultimately selected. She served as head of the Governance Reform Commission and played an active role in the transitional government as the country prepared for the 2005 elections, in which she battled against GEORGE WEAH, a former football forward.
On November 23, 2005, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was declared the winner and became the first democratically elected female president in Africa. Her inauguration on January 16, 2006, included attendees First Lady Laura Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Governor General of Canada MICHAËLLE JEAN. On March 15, 2006, she addressed a joint meeting of the United States Congress, asking for support to help her country “become a brilliant beacon, an example to Africa and the world of what love of liberty can achieve”. Two days later, she submitted a request to Nigeria for the extradition of former president Charles Taylor.
On July 26, 2007, Liberia celebrated its 160th Independence Day under the theme “Liberia at 160: Reclaiming the Future.” President Johnson-Sirleaf took an unprecedented and symbolic move by asking 25-year-old Liberian activist KIMMIE WEEKS to serve as National Orator for the celebration. Weeks became Liberia’s youngest National Orator in over a hundred years and called for the government to prioritize education and health care. A few days later, President Johnson-Sirleaf issued an Executive Order making education free and compulsory for all elementary school-aged children.
Last month, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was named the 66th MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD. She is a divorced mother of four boys and grandmother to six children.
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