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Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Encyclopedia : E : EL : ELL : Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (born October 29, 1938) is the current president of Liberia. Her election victory was formally announced by the Liberian elections commission on November 23, 2005 following the 2005 election. She is the world's first black female president and likewise Africa's first elected female head of state. Her vice president is Joseph Boakai. She is often referred to as the "Iron Lady".

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Biography

Three of Johnson-Sirleaf's grandparents were indigenous Liberians; the fourth was a German who married a rural market woman. That grandfather was forced to leave the country when Liberia — in loyalty to the United States — declared war on Germany in 1917.

Johnson-Sirleaf graduated from the College of West Africa (Monrovia), a United Methodist high school. She received a B.B.A. in Accounting at Madison Business College in Madison, Wisconsin, USA in 1964, an economics diploma from the University of Colorado in 1970, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University in 1971.

Returning to Liberia after Harvard, Johnson-Sirleaf became Assistant Minister of Finance in President William Tolbert's administration. In 1980, Tolbert was overthrown and killed by army sergeant Samuel Doe, ending decades of relative stability. Doe represented the Krahn ethnic group and was the first Liberian president not to be descended from the elite ex-American slave community. For the next ten years, Doe allowed the Krahn people to dominate public life.

After the overthrow of Tolbert, Johnson-Sirleaf went into exile in Nairobi, Kenya, where she worked for Citibank. She returned to run for Senate in 1985, but when she spoke out against Doe's military regime, she was sentenced to ten years in prison. Released after a short period, she moved to Washington, D.C.. She returned to Liberia again in 1997 in the capacity of an economist, working for the World Bank, and Citibank in Africa.

Initially supporting Charles Taylor's bloody rebellion against President Samuel Doe in 1990, she later went on to oppose him, and ran against him in the 1997 presidential elections. She managed only 10% of the votes, as opposed to Taylor's 75%. Taylor charged her with treason. She campaigned for the removal of President Taylor from office, playing an active and supportive role in the transitional government, as the country prepared itself for the 2005 elections. With Taylor's departure, she returned to take over the leadership of the Unity Party.

Presidency

In the first round of 2005 voting, she came second with 175,520 votes, putting her through to the runoff vote on November 8 against former footballer George Weah. On November 11, the National Elections Commission of Liberia declared Johnson-Sirleaf to be president-elect of Liberia. On November 23, they confirmed their decision saying that Johnson-Sirleaf had won with a margin of almost 20% of the vote. Independent, international, regional, and domestic observers declared the vote to be free, fair, and transparent. Her inauguration took place on January 16, 2006; foreign attendees of the ceremony included Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush.

On March 15, 2006, President Johnson-Sirleaf addressed a joint meeting of the United States Congress, asking for American support to help her country “become a brilliant beacon, an example to Africa and the world of what love of liberty can achieve.” [link]

Uncomfortably for Johnson-Sirleaf, former President Charles Taylor's followers remain in large numbers in Liberia's government. Edwin Snowe, the current speaker of the house (third in the government), is Taylor's son-in-law and was prominent in his government. Taylor's estranged wife, Jewel Howard Taylor, is in the legislature. So is Prince Johnson, whose grusome torture and murder of President Samuel Doe in 1990 was captured on a widely-distributed videotape. Nevertheless, on 17 March 2006, President Johnson-Sirleaf submitted an official request to Nigeria for Taylor's extradition.

Johnson-Sirleaf is the mother of four sons (two live in the United States and two live in Liberia) and has six grandchildren, some of whom live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Positions

Johnson-Sirleaf has also been:

Publications

Awards

References

External links

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