Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: Difference between revisions

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
President of Liberia
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 16 January 2006
Vice President	Joseph Boakai
Preceded by	Gyude Bryant
Personal details
Born	October 29, 1938 (age 85); Monrovia, Liberia
Political party	Unity Party
Alma mater	University of Colorado, Boulder; University of Wisconsin, Madison; Harvard University
Profession	Economist; Businessperson; Activist

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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born 29 October 1938) is the 24th and current President of Liberia. She served as Minister of Finance under President William Tolbert from 1979 until the 1980 coup d'état, after which she left Liberia and held senior positions at various financial institutions. She placed a very distant second in the 1997 presidential election. Later, she was elected President in the 2005 presidential election and took office on 16 January 2006. Sirleaf is the first and currently the only elected female head of state in Africa.

Sirleaf was awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen. The women were recognized "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work".^[1]

Family background

While not Americo-Liberian by ancestry, Sirleaf is considered culturally Americo-Liberian by some observers or assumed to be Americo-Liberian.^[2]^[3]^[4] However, Sirleaf does not identify as such.^[5] Her ethnic background is 1/2 Gola from her father's side, and 1/4 German (grandfather) and 1/4 Kru (grandmother) from her mother's side.^[6]^[7]

Sirleaf’s father Jahmale Carney Johnson, was born into a region filled with rural poverty.^[8] He was the son of a minor Gola chief named Jahmale and one of his wives, Jenneh, in Julijuah, Bomi County.^[9] Her father was sent to Monrovia, where his last name was changed to Johnson because of his father's loyalty to President Hilary R. W. Johnson, Liberia's first Liberian-born president.^[9] He grew up in Monrovia where he was raised by an Americo-Liberian family with the surname McGritty.^[9] Sirleaf's father later became the first Liberian from an indigenous ethnic group to sit in the country's national legislature.^[7]^[8]

Sirleaf's mother was also born into poverty in Greenville, Liberia.^[9] Her grandmother Juah Sarwee sent Sirleaf's mother to Monrovia when Sirleaf's German grandfather had to flee the country after Liberia declared war on Germany during World War I.^[8] A member of a prominent Americo-Liberian family, Cecilia Dunbar, adopted and raised Sirleaf's mother.^[9]

Early life and career

Sirleaf was born in Monrovia,^[8] and studied economics and accounts from 1948 to 1955 at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. She married James Sirleaf when she was 17 years old,^[7] and then traveled with him to the United States in 1961 to continue her studies and earned an accounting degree at Madison Business College, in Madison, Wisconsin, and a degree in economics from the University of Colorado, Boulder.^[10] Sirleaf later studied economics and public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government from 1969 to 1971, gaining a Master of Public Administration. She then returned to her native Liberia to work under the government of William Tolbert.

Sirleaf served as Assistant Minister of Finance from 1972 to 1973 under Tolbert's administration. She resigned after getting into a disagreement about spending. Subsequently she was Minister of Finance from 1979 to April 1980. Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, a member of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group, seized power in an April 12, 1980 military coup; Tolbert was assassinated and all but four members of his cabinet were executed by firing squad. The People's Redemption Council took control of the country and led a purge against the former government. Sirleaf initially accepted a post in the new government as President of the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment, though she fled the country in November 1980 after publicly criticizing Doe and the People's Redemption Council for their management of the country.

Sirleaf initially moved to Washington D.C. to work for the World Bank before moving to Nairobi in 1981 to serve as Vice President of the African Regional Office of Citibank. She resigned from Citibank in 1985 following her involvement in the 1985 election in Liberia and went to work for Equator Bank, a subsidiary of HSBC. In 1992, Sirleaf was appointed as the Assistant Administrator, then Director, of the United Nations Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Africa, from which she resigned in 1997 to run for president in Liberia. During her time at the UN, she was one of the seven internationally eminent persons designated in 1999 by the Organization of African Unity to investigate the Rwandan genocide, one of the five Commission Chairs for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and one of two international experts selected by UNIFEM to investigate and report on the effect of conflict on women and women’s roles in peace building. She was the initial Chairperson of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and a visiting Professor of Governance at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

Political career

1985 general election

While working at Citibank, Sirleaf returned to Liberia in 1985 to run for Vice President on the ticket of the Liberian Action Party in the 1985 elections. However, Sirleaf was placed under house arrest in August of that year and soon after sentenced to ten years in prison for sedition as a consequence of a speech in which she insulted the members of the Doe regime. Following international calls for her release, Doe pardoned and released her in September. Due to government pressure, she was removed from the presidential ticket and instead ran for a Senate seat in Montserrado County.

Though the elections, which saw Doe and the National Democratic Party win the presidency and large majorities in both houses, were widely condemned as neither free nor fair, Sirleaf was declared the winner of her Senate race. Sirleaf refused to accept the seat in protest of the election fraud. After an attempted coup against the Doe government by Thomas Quiwonkpa on November 12, Sirleaf was arrested and imprisoned again on November 13 by Doe's forces. Despite continuing to refuse to accept her seat in the Senate, she was released in July 1986 and secretly fled the country to the United States later that year.

1997 presidential campaign

At the outbreak of the First Liberian Civil War in 1989, Sirleaf initially supported Charles Taylor rebellion against Doe, helping to raise funds for his cause. However, she later went on to oppose him. By 1996, the presence of ECOWAS peacekeepers allowed for the cessation of hostilities, resulting in the 1997 general election, which Sirleaf returned to her native Liberia to contest. As the presidential candidate for the Unity Party, she placed second in a controversial election, losing with 10% of the vote to Charles Taylor's 75%. Sirleaf left the country soon after and again went into exile in Abidjan.

2005 presidential campaign

After the end of the Second Liberian Civil War and the establishment of a transitional government, Sirleaf was proposed as a possible candidate for chairman of the government. Ultimately, Gyude Bryant, a political neutral, was chosen as chairman, while Sirleaf served as head of the Governance Reform Commission.

Sirleaf once again stood for president as the candidate of the Unity Party in the 2005 general election. She placed second in the first round of voting behind footballer George Weah. In the subsequent run-off election, Sirleaf earned 59% of the vote versus 40% for Weah, though Weah disputed the results. The announcement of the new leader was postponed until further investigations were carried out. On 23 November 2005, Sirleaf was declared the winner of the Liberian election and confirmed as the country's next president. Her inauguration, attended by many foreign dignitaries, including United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and First Lady Laura Bush, took place on 16 January 2006.

2011 presidential campaign

In January 2010, Sirleaf announced that she would run for a second term in office in the 2011 presidential election while speaking to a joint session of the Legislature.^[11] Opposition leaders noted that in doing so, she had broken a promise made during her 2005 campaign to only serve one term if elected.^[12] Sirleaf was renominated as the Unity Party's presidential candidate at the party's national convention on 31 October 2010.^[13] That same day, Vice President Joseph Boakai was nominated by Sirleaf and confirmed by the delegates as Sirleaf's running mate.^[13]

Presidency

Domestic policy

A fire broke out at the Executive Mansion on 26 July 2006, seriously damaging the structure. An independent panel formed to investigate the incident ruled out arson, attributing the fire to an electrical malfunction.^[14] Sirleaf's government called funding for the repair of the mansion a low priority in the face of more pressing needs, with Sirleaf transferring her office to the nearby Foreign Ministry building and choosing to live at her personal home in Monrovia.^[15]^[16]

On 26 July 2007, Sirleaf celebrated Liberia's 160th Independence Day under the theme "Liberia at 160: Reclaiming the future." She took an unprecedented and symbolic move by asking 25-year-old Liberian activist Kimmie Weeks to serve as National Orator for the celebrations, where Weeks called for the government to prioritize education and health care. A few days later, President Sirleaf issued an Executive Order making education free and compulsory for all elementary school aged children.

In October 2010, Sirleaf signed into law a Freedom of Information bill, the first legislation of its kind in West Africa.^[17] In recognition of this, she became the first sitting head of state to receive the Friend of the Media in Africa Award from The African Editor's Union.^[18]

On 1 April 2011, Sirleaf told reporters that she planned to charge an opposition candidate with sedition for organizing a rally protesting corruption in the government. Her press secretary later clarified that the remark had been an April Fools' prank.^[19]

Debt relief

From the beginning of her presidency, Sirleaf vowed to make reduction of the national debt, which stood at approximately US$4.9 billion in 2006, a top priority for her administration. The United States became the first country to grant debt relief to Liberia, waiving the full $391 million owed to it by Liberia in early 2007.^[20] In September of that year, the G-8 headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel provided $324.5 million to paying off 60% of Liberia's debt to the International Monetary Fund, crediting their decision with the macroeconomic policies pursued by the Sirleaf administration.^[21]

In April 2009, the government successfully wrote off an additional $1.2 billion in foreign commercial debt in a deal that saw the government buy back the debt at a 97% discounted rate through financing provided by the International Development Association, Germany, Norway, the United States and the United Kingdom.^[22] The discounted rate was the largest ever for a developing country.^[22]

The country was deemed eligible to participate in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative in 2008.^[23] In June 2010, the country reached the completion point of the HIPC initiative, qualifying it for relief from its entire external debt.^[24] That same month, the World Bank and IMF agreed to fund $1.5 billion in writing off the Liberia's multilateral debt.^[25] On 16 September, the Paris Club agreed to cancel $1.26 billion, with independent bilateral creditors canceling an additional $107 million, essentially writing off Liberia's remaining external debt.^[26] Sirleaf vowed to prevent unsustainable borrowing in the future by restricting annual borrowing to 3% of GDP and limiting expenditure of all borrowed funds to one-off infrastructure projects.^[27]

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

In 2006, Sirleaf established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a mandate to "promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation" by investigating more than 20 years of civil conflict in the country.

In their final report, issued in June 2009, the TRC included Sirleaf in a list of 50 names of people that should be "specifically barred from holding public offices; elected or appointed for a period of thirty (30) years" for "being associated with former warring factions."^[28] The proposed ban stemmed from her financial support of former President Taylor in the initial months of the First Liberian Civil War.

On 26 July 2009, Sirleaf apologized to Liberia for supporting Charles Taylor, adding that "when the true nature of Mr. Taylor’s intentions became known, there was no more impassioned critic or strong opponent to him in a democratic process" than she.^[29] On 28 August, the Legislature announced they must "consult our constituents for about a year" before deciding whether or not to implement the Commission's recommendations.^[30]

During an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in 2010, Sirleaf argued that the implementation of the TRC's recommended ban would unconstitutionally violate her right to due process.^[31] In October 2010, the chairman of Sirleaf's Unity Party, Varney Sherman, argued that implementation of the recommendation would be unconstitutional, as Article 21(a) of the Constitution prohibits ex post facto laws, and Sirleaf had broken no law by financially supporting Taylor that imposed a ban from public office as a penalty.^[32]

In January 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in Williams v. Tah, a case brought by another person recommended for being banned from public office in the TRC report, that the TRC's recommendation was an unconstitutional violation of the listed individuals' right to procedural due process, and that it would be unconstitutional for the government to implement the proposed bans.^[33]

Foreign policy

File:Sirleaf Obama 2010.jpg

President Sirleaf meets with President Barack Obama at the White House in 2010.

Upon her election to office, Sirleaf made her first foreign trip as President to neighboring Côte d'Ivoire, meeting with Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo in an attempt to repair relations between the two countries following Côte d'Ivoire's support of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia during the Second Liberian Civil War.^[34] During the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis, Sirleaf, as chairperson of the Mano River Union, supported ECOWAS's recognition of Gbago's opponent, Alassane Ouattara, as the winner of the disputed presidential election, but rejected calls for a military solution to the crisis.^[35]

Sirleaf has forged close relations with the United States, Liberia's traditional ally. Following the establishment of AFRICOM by the United States military, Sirleaf offered to allow the US to headquarter the new command in Liberia, the only African leader to do so.^[36] The command was eventually headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. On 15 March 2006, President 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.”^[37]

Sirleaf has also strengthened relations with the People's Republic of China, reaffirming Liberia's commitment to the One-China policy.^[38] In return, China has contributed to Liberia's reconstruction, building several transmitters to extend the Liberia Broadcasting System nationwide and constructing a new campus for the University of Liberia.^[39]^[40]

Sirleaf is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

During the 2011 Libyan civil war, Sirleaf added her voice to a chorus of calls from the international community for Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi to cease the use of violence and tactics of political repression. However, she criticized the international military intervention in Libya, declaring that "violence does not help the process whichever way it comes".^[41] Her government later severed diplomatic ties with Libya, stating that "The Government took the decision after a careful review of the situation in Libya and determined that the Government of Colonel Gaddafi has lost the legitimacy to govern Libya."^[42]

Administration and Cabinet

Template:Infobox Liberian Cabinet Following her election in 2005, Sirleaf pledged to promote national reconciliation by bringing in opposition leaders into her administration.^[43] Opposition politicians who joined her initial administration included Minister of Transport Jeremiah Sulunteh, Minister of Education Joseph Korto, and Ambassador to the United Nations Nathaniel Barnes. Sirleaf also appointed several women to high-level posts in her administration, with female ministers initially leading the Ministries of Finance, Law, Commerce and Industry, Gender and Development, and Youth and Sports.^[44] Sirleaf said that while she had planned on appointing an all-female cabinet, she had been unable to find qualified female candidates for every position.^[31]

Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf promised that she would impose a "zero tolerance" policy on corruption within the government.^[45] Despite this, critics have argued that corruption remains rampant within Sirleaf's administration; Information Minister Lawrence Bropleh was sacked in 2008 over allegations that he had stolen more than $200,000 in state funds, while Internal Affairs Minister Ambullai Johnson, Sirleaf's brother, was dismissed in 2010 after the disappearance of funds for county development.^[46]^[47] Sirleaf herself has acknowledged that corruption in government remains, noting that her zero tolerance policy was hampered by the need to pass major economic reforms through the Legislature, a goal that would have been impeded by significant anti-corruption legislation and prosecutions.^[46] However, Sirleaf has rejected claims that she has failed to fight corruption, pointing to the establishment of the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission and the restructuring of the General Auditing Commission.^[48]

Sirleaf dismissed her entire cabinet from office on 3 November 2010, promising to reassemble the cabinet in a short of time as possible.^[49] She argued that the move was taken to give her administration a "clean slate" in preparation for the final year of her term, though critics argued that the move was aimed to bolster her chances at reelection by confronting corruption in her administration.^[49] By early December 2010, Sirleaf had reconstituted her entire cabinet, replacing seven of her nineteen ministers.^[50]

Judicial appointments

Upon the inauguration of Sirleaf, the entire Supreme Court bench, which had been selected as part of the transitional government in 2003, stepped down, leaving Sirleaf to fill all five seats on the Court. Sirleaf nominated Johnnie Lewis, a Yale Law School graduate and former Circuit Court judge, for the office of Chief Justice.^[51] Lewis and three of Sirleaf's Associate Justice nominees, J. Emmanuel Wureh, Francis Korkpor and Gladys Johnson, were confirmed by the Senate on 2 March 2006.^[52] Sirleaf's nomination of Kabineh Ja'neh, a former leader in the rebel LURD movement, as Associate Justice received criticism from the opposition Congress for Democratic Change due to concerns over Ja'neh's human rights record during the civil war, and Ja'neh was not confirmed until 9 May.^[44]^[53]

Following the death of Justice Wureh in July 2006, Sirleaf nominated Christiana Tah, a deputy minister at the Justice Ministry, to fill his seat.^[54] However, the Senate later rejected Tah's nomination, leading Sirleaf to nominate her Minister of Youth and Sports, Jamesetta Howard Wolokollie, who was confirmed.^[54] Justice Johnson retired from the Court on 26 March 2011 after reaching the constitutionally mandated retirement age of seventy.^[54] Sirleaf nominated Phillip A. Z. Banks, her former Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, to replace Johnson in August 2011.^[55] Banks was confirmed by the Senate on 20 August 2011.^[56]

International image

Forbes magazine named Sirleaf as the 51st most powerful woman in the world in 2006.^[57] In 2010, Newsweek listed her as one of the ten best leaders in the world, while Time counted her among the top ten female leaders.^[58]^[59] That same year, The Economist called her "arguably the best president the country has ever had."^[60]

Personal life

In 1956, Sirleaf married James Sirleaf, whom she later divorced.^[when?] Sirleaf is the mother of four sons^[10] and has eight grandchildren. Her great nephew, Emmanuel Sumana Elsar Sr., was her political advisor during the 2005 presidential elections against George Weah.

Awards

Recipient of the 1988 Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute Freedom of Speech Award^[61]
Ralph Bunche International Leadership Award
Grand commander Star of Africa Redemption of Liberia
Commandeur de l'Ordre du Togo (Commander of the Order of Togo)
2006 Common Ground Award recipient, Search for Common Ground^[62]
2006 Laureate of the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger, The Hunger Project^[63]
2006 Distinguished Fellow, Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning, Emory University^[64]
2006 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws from Marquette University ^[65]
2006 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award from Synergos ^[66]
2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award given by the United States, awarded to Sirleaf by U.S. President George W. Bush on 5 November 2007^[67]
2008 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Indiana University^[68]
2008 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Brown University^[69]
2009 Awarded the EITI Award for "the rapid progress the country has made towards implementation of the EITI"^[70]
2009 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Tampa^[71]
2010 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Yale University^[72]
2010 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey^[73]
2010 Friend of the Media in Africa Award from The African Editor's Union^[74]
2011 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University^[75]
2011 African Gender Award^[76]
2011 Nobel Peace Prize^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 – Press Release". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
^ Kofa, Tleh (September 28, 2005). "Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf finally confesses to funding Liberian civil war". The Liberian Dialogue. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
^ "Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf: Liberia's 'Iron Lady'". CBC News. March 28, 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
^ Koblanck, Anna (November 4, 2005). "Liberian Becomes Africa's First Elected Female Prez". Women's eNews. Retrieved April 13, 2006.
^ Bobby-Evans, Alistair. "Biography: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia's 'Iron Lady'". About.com. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ Kramer, Reed (December 11, 2005). "Liberia: Showered With Enthusiasm, Liberia's President-Elect Receives High-Level Reception in Washington". AllAfrica.com. Retrieved December 15, 2005.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Ellen!". Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Spring 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's tribal roots and Americo Liberian background". Liberia Past And Present. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Bergner, Daniel (October 22, 2010). "An Uncompromising Woman". New York Times Magazine.
^ "Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to stand again". BBC News. 26 January 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
^ Keating, Joshua E. (August 19, 2011). "The Men Who Would Be Queen". Foreign Policy. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Kamara, Varney (November 1, 2010). "Sirleaf, Boakai Get Sec-Term Mandate". allAfrica.com. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
^ "In Liberia, Report on Executive Mansion Fire Rules Out Arson". Voice of America. 4 September 2006.
^ Daygbor, Nathaniel (September 20, 2010). "Mansion's Renovation Not Priority". The New Dawn.
^ Gordon, Glenna (August 19, 2009). "Inside Liberia's Other Executive Mansion". GlobalPost.
^ "Liberia: President Signs Freedom of Information Law". allAfrica.com. 6 October 2010.
^ "Sirleaf Sets Continental Record". allAfrica.com. 20 October 2010.
^ "The President's 'April Fool'". New Democrat. April 5, 2011.
^ "Liberia: Pres. Johnson-Sirleaf Returns Triumphantly". Africa News. February 16, 2007.
^ "Liberia: G-8 Rallies for Country's Debts". Africa News. September 24, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Liberia Slashes USD$1.2 Billion Commercial Debt" (Press release). Monrovia: The Executive Mansion. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
^ "Liberia on track for HIPC debt relief this year: IMF". Reuters Africa. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
^ Kennedy, George (June 2, 2010). "Liberia Reaches HIPC Completion Point". The Liberian Observer.
^ "Liberia: IMF and World Bank Announce U.S.$4.6 Billion Debt Relief". AllAfrica.com. June 29, 2010.
^ "Liberia: Paris Club Clears More Than U.S.$1 Billion Debt Liberia Owes Its Creditors". AllAfrica.com. September 16, 2010.
^ Toweh, Alphonso (July 19, 2010). "Liberia ready to borrow again: finance minister". Reuters Africa.
^ "Sirleaf should be banned from office: Liberia truth commission". AFP. July 6, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (August 13, 2009). "Clinton Supports President of Liberia". New York Times.
^ Konneh, Ansu (August 28, 2010). "Liberian Parliament Delay Action on Truth Commission Findings". Bloomberg News.
^ ^a ^b "A Conversation with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President, Republic of Liberia". Council on Foreign Relations. 25 May 2010.
^ Sieh, Rodney (October 7, 2010). "Interview: Varney Sherman on New UP Pickups Saga; Re-Electing Ellen". FrontPageAfrica.
^ "Liberian Supreme Court Squashes Truth And Reconciliation Commission Ban on Politicians". NetNewsPublisher. January 24, 2011.
^ "Liberia's president-elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Ivory Coast on first foreign trip". AP Worldstream. November 29, 2005.
^ Sengbeh, D Kaihenneh (January 24, 2011). "MRU Opposes Force by Ecowas in Côte Ivoire". The 1847 Post.
^ "Liberian President disappointed over U.S. decision on AFRICOM". Emerging Minds. 24 February 2008.
^ "Liberia: President Sirleaf Thanks U.S. Congress, Asks for Continuing Support". allAfrica.com. March 15, 2006.
^ Campbell, Janjay (October 1, 2007). "Liberia: Ellen Renews "One China" Commitment". allAfrica.com.
^ "Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Attends the Hand-over Ceremony of China-aided LBS Rehabilitation and Expansion Project and the Launching of CRI FM Programs in Liberia". Embassy of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Liberia. November 19, 2008.
^ "Remarks at the Handover Ceremony of the China-aided Fendall Campus of the University of Liberia". Embassy of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Liberia. July 20, 2010.
^ "President Sirleaf against air strikes in Libya". Afrique Avenir. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
^ "Liberia cuts ties with Gaddafi's Libya". Reuters Africa. June 14, 2011.
^ "Profile: Liberia's 'Iron Lady'". BBC News. November 23, 2005.
^ ^a ^b "Sirleaf starts to form government, some appointments spark protest". IRIN Africa. February 14, 2006.
^ "West Africa: Mixed report card in 2008 corruption index". IRIN News. September 28, 2008.
^ ^a ^b Mahtani, Dino (May 28, 2010). "Tarnishing the Iron Lady of Africa". Foreign Policy.
^ Butty, James (December 10, 2010). "Liberian Minister Vows Jury Reform Following Bropleh Corruption Trial". Voice of America.
^ Butty, James (June 27, 2011). "Liberian President Sirleaf: Country Making Progress, Challenges Remain". Voice of America.
^ ^a ^b "Liberian Leader Dissolves Cabinet". The New York Times. November 3, 2010.
^ "Liberian president Sirleaf fully reconstitutes cabinet". Afrique Avenir. December 6, 2010.
^ "Johnny Lewis Named Chief Justice Frances Johnson Morris is Justice Minister". allAfrica.com. February 13, 2006.
^ "Pres. Sirleaf Commissions Chief Justice, Associate". allAfrica.com. 3 March 2011.
^ "Senate Finally Confirms Ja'neh to Supreme Court". allAfrica.com. May 10, 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Void on the Bench". FrontPageAfrica. 3 April 2011.
^ "Cllr. Philip Banks Nominated as Associate Justice of Supreme Court". The Executive Mansion. August 9, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
^ Nyenur, Tom B. (August 21, 2011). "Amid Controversy – Senate Confirms Banks As Associate Justice". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
^ Serafin, Tatiana. "The 100 Most Powerful Women: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". Forbes. {{cite news}}: Text "August 31, 2006" ignored (help)
^ McLure, Jason (16 August 2010). "The Rebuilder: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". Newsweek.
^ Adams, William Lee (September 7, 2010). "Top 10 Female Leaders". Time.
^ "Another Round for Africa's Iron Lady". The Economist. May 22, 2010.
^ "Recipients of the Four Freedoms Award". Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ "Common Ground Awards 2006". Search for Common Ground. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ "President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: 2006 Africa Prize Laureate". The Hunger Project. 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: Halle Distinguished Fellow, September 12, 2006". Emory University. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ "Honorary Degree Recipient: Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". Marquette University. October 23, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
^ "2006 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award Honorees". Synergos. October 12, 2006.
^ "President Bush Announces Recipients of Presidential Medal of Freedom" (Press release). White House Office of the Press Secretary. Oct. 29, 2007. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ "Liberian president receiving honorary degree at IU Bloomington commencement" (Press release). Indiana University. April 8, 2010.
^ Brown University "Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to Receive Honorary Degree" (Press release). Brown University. September 8, 2009. {{cite press release}}: Check |url= value (help)
^ "Eiti Awards Government for Progress, As President Sirleaf Returns Home" (Press release). AllAfrica.com. February 18, 2009.
^ "UT Honorary Doctorate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Named Nobel Peace Prize Recipient". The University of Tampa. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
^ Zuckerman, Esther (May 23, 2010). "Liberian president to receive honorary degree". Yale Daily News.
^ "2010 Commencement/Convocations". Rutgers University. May 25, 2010.
^ "President Sirleaf Receives African Editors Honor" (Press release). Monrovia: The Executive Mansion. October 18, 2010.
^ http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/05/harvard-to-award-nine-honorary-degrees/
^ (Press release). Monrovia: The Executive Mansion. June 18, 2011 title='You Have Brought Honor to All African Women,’ Senegal’s Wade Says http://emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1919 title='You Have Brought Honor to All African Women,’ Senegal’s Wade Says. {{cite press release}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing pipe in: |url= (help)

Bibliography

Anderson, Jon Lee. "Letter from Liberia: After the Warlords", The New Yorker, March 27, 2006. Retrieved on December 14, 2010.
Johnson Sirleaf, Ellen (2009). This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-135347-5.

Further reading

Johnson Sirleaf, Ellen (1991). The Outlook for Commercial Bank Lending to Sub-Saharan Africa (Report). World Bank. Retrieved 2010-12-14. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Johnson Sirleaf, Ellen (1999). "From Disaster to Development". In Cahill, Kevin (ed.). A Framework for Survival: Health, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Assistance in Conflicts and Disasters. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-41-592235-7.
Johnson Sirleaf, Ellen; Rehn, Elizabeth (2002). Women, War and Peace: The Independent Experts’ Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women’s Role in Peace-building. New York: UNIFEM. ISBN 0-912917-66-0.
Johnson Sirleaf, Ellen (2009). "Foreword". In Van Der Gaag, Nikki (ed.). Because I am a Girl: In the Shadow of War. Woking: Plan UK. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-0-9550479-4-7.

External links

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Liberia Executive Mansion official government website
- Biography
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia includes final report
Appearances on C-SPAN
Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
Template:Worldcat id
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf collected news and commentary at The New York Times
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Speeches

Address to US Congress in Joint Session 15 March 2006 TXT PDF
Sirleaf Speaks at U.S. Institute of Peace 21 March 2006 (audio archive available)
Liberian President Speaks to Georgetown Community 17 October 2006

Profiles and interviews

Profile: Liberia's 'Iron Lady' on BBC News Online, 23 November 2005
Iron Ladies of Liberia, Independent Lens on PBS, 2007
Follow the Leader, interview with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by the International Museum of Women, April 2008
The 'Remarkable Life' Of Liberia's 'Iron Lady', Dave Davies, interview on Fresh Air, April 2009
Top 100 Women in Politics: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Ermine Saner, The Guardian, 8 March 2011
"Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — The Daily Show with Jon Stewart". The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2011.

Political offices
Preceded by Gyude Bryant	President of Liberia 2006–present	Incumbent
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Liu Xiaobo	Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2011 Served alongside: Leymah Gbowee, Tawakel Karman	Most recent

Template:Persondata

[nobel-1] "The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 – Press Release". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2011-10-07.

[2] Kofa, Tleh (September 28, 2005). "Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf finally confesses to funding Liberian civil war". The Liberian Dialogue. Retrieved March 14, 2010.

[3] "Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf: Liberia's 'Iron Lady'". CBC News. March 28, 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2010.

[4] Koblanck, Anna (November 4, 2005). "Liberian Becomes Africa's First Elected Female Prez". Women's eNews. Retrieved April 13, 2006.

[5] Bobby-Evans, Alistair. "Biography: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia's 'Iron Lady'". About.com. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[6] Kramer, Reed (December 11, 2005). "Liberia: Showered With Enthusiasm, Liberia's President-Elect Receives High-Level Reception in Washington". AllAfrica.com. Retrieved December 15, 2005.

[brit-7] "Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[harv-8] "Ellen!". Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Spring 2006.

[lib-9] "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's tribal roots and Americo Liberian background". Liberia Past And Present. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[bergner-10] Bergner, Daniel (October 22, 2010). "An Uncompromising Woman". New York Times Magazine.

[11] "Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to stand again". BBC News. 26 January 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2010.

[12] Keating, Joshua E. (August 19, 2011). "The Men Who Would Be Queen". Foreign Policy. Retrieved August 21, 2011.

[Secterm-13] Kamara, Varney (November 1, 2010). "Sirleaf, Boakai Get Sec-Term Mandate". allAfrica.com. Retrieved November 1, 2010.

[14] "In Liberia, Report on Executive Mansion Fire Rules Out Arson". Voice of America. 4 September 2006.

[15] Daygbor, Nathaniel (September 20, 2010). "Mansion's Renovation Not Priority". The New Dawn.

[16] Gordon, Glenna (August 19, 2009). "Inside Liberia's Other Executive Mansion". GlobalPost.

[17] "Liberia: President Signs Freedom of Information Law". allAfrica.com. 6 October 2010.

[18] "Sirleaf Sets Continental Record". allAfrica.com. 20 October 2010.

[19] "The President's 'April Fool'". New Democrat. April 5, 2011.

[20] "Liberia: Pres. Johnson-Sirleaf Returns Triumphantly". Africa News. February 16, 2007.

[21] "Liberia: G-8 Rallies for Country's Debts". Africa News. September 24, 2007.

[Slash-22] "Liberia Slashes USD$1.2 Billion Commercial Debt" (Press release). Monrovia: The Executive Mansion. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2010.

[23] "Liberia on track for HIPC debt relief this year: IMF". Reuters Africa. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.

[24] Kennedy, George (June 2, 2010). "Liberia Reaches HIPC Completion Point". The Liberian Observer.

[25] "Liberia: IMF and World Bank Announce U.S.$4.6 Billion Debt Relief". AllAfrica.com. June 29, 2010.

[26] "Liberia: Paris Club Clears More Than U.S.$1 Billion Debt Liberia Owes Its Creditors". AllAfrica.com. September 16, 2010.

[27] Toweh, Alphonso (July 19, 2010). "Liberia ready to borrow again: finance minister". Reuters Africa.

[28] "Sirleaf should be banned from office: Liberia truth commission". AFP. July 6, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[29] Gettleman, Jeffrey (August 13, 2009). "Clinton Supports President of Liberia". New York Times.

[30] Konneh, Ansu (August 28, 2010). "Liberian Parliament Delay Action on Truth Commission Findings". Bloomberg News.

[CFR-31] "A Conversation with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President, Republic of Liberia". Council on Foreign Relations. 25 May 2010.

[32] Sieh, Rodney (October 7, 2010). "Interview: Varney Sherman on New UP Pickups Saga; Re-Electing Ellen". FrontPageAfrica.

[33] "Liberian Supreme Court Squashes Truth And Reconciliation Commission Ban on Politicians". NetNewsPublisher. January 24, 2011.

[34] "Liberia's president-elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Ivory Coast on first foreign trip". AP Worldstream. November 29, 2005.

[35] Sengbeh, D Kaihenneh (January 24, 2011). "MRU Opposes Force by Ecowas in Côte Ivoire". The 1847 Post.

[36] "Liberian President disappointed over U.S. decision on AFRICOM". Emerging Minds. 24 February 2008.

[37] "Liberia: President Sirleaf Thanks U.S. Congress, Asks for Continuing Support". allAfrica.com. March 15, 2006.

[38] Campbell, Janjay (October 1, 2007). "Liberia: Ellen Renews "One China" Commitment". allAfrica.com.

[39] "Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Attends the Hand-over Ceremony of China-aided LBS Rehabilitation and Expansion Project and the Launching of CRI FM Programs in Liberia". Embassy of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Liberia. November 19, 2008.

[40] "Remarks at the Handover Ceremony of the China-aided Fendall Campus of the University of Liberia". Embassy of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Liberia. July 20, 2010.

[41] "President Sirleaf against air strikes in Libya". Afrique Avenir. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.

[42] "Liberia cuts ties with Gaddafi's Libya". Reuters Africa. June 14, 2011.

[profile-43] "Profile: Liberia's 'Iron Lady'". BBC News. November 23, 2005.

[appoint-44] "Sirleaf starts to form government, some appointments spark protest". IRIN Africa. February 14, 2006.

[45] "West Africa: Mixed report card in 2008 corruption index". IRIN News. September 28, 2008.

[tarnish-46] Mahtani, Dino (May 28, 2010). "Tarnishing the Iron Lady of Africa". Foreign Policy.

[47] Butty, James (December 10, 2010). "Liberian Minister Vows Jury Reform Following Bropleh Corruption Trial". Voice of America.

[48] Butty, James (June 27, 2011). "Liberian President Sirleaf: Country Making Progress, Challenges Remain". Voice of America.

[dissolve-49] "Liberian Leader Dissolves Cabinet". The New York Times. November 3, 2010.

[50] "Liberian president Sirleaf fully reconstitutes cabinet". Afrique Avenir. December 6, 2010.

[51] "Johnny Lewis Named Chief Justice Frances Johnson Morris is Justice Minister". allAfrica.com. February 13, 2006.

[52] "Pres. Sirleaf Commissions Chief Justice, Associate". allAfrica.com. 3 March 2011.

[53] "Senate Finally Confirms Ja'neh to Supreme Court". allAfrica.com. May 10, 2006.

[void-54] "Void on the Bench". FrontPageAfrica. 3 April 2011.

[55] "Cllr. Philip Banks Nominated as Associate Justice of Supreme Court". The Executive Mansion. August 9, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2011.

[56] Nyenur, Tom B. (August 21, 2011). "Amid Controversy – Senate Confirms Banks As Associate Justice". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved August 21, 2011.

[57] Serafin, Tatiana. "The 100 Most Powerful Women: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". Forbes. {{cite news}}: Text "August 31, 2006" ignored (help)

[58] McLure, Jason (16 August 2010). "The Rebuilder: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". Newsweek.

[59] Adams, William Lee (September 7, 2010). "Top 10 Female Leaders". Time.

[60] "Another Round for Africa's Iron Lady". The Economist. May 22, 2010.

[61] "Recipients of the Four Freedoms Award". Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[62] "Common Ground Awards 2006". Search for Common Ground. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[63] "President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: 2006 Africa Prize Laureate". The Hunger Project. 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[64] "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: Halle Distinguished Fellow, September 12, 2006". Emory University. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[65] "Honorary Degree Recipient: Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". Marquette University. October 23, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

[66] "2006 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award Honorees". Synergos. October 12, 2006.

[67] "President Bush Announces Recipients of Presidential Medal of Freedom" (Press release). White House Office of the Press Secretary. Oct. 29, 2007. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[68] "Liberian president receiving honorary degree at IU Bloomington commencement" (Press release). Indiana University. April 8, 2010.

[69] Brown University "Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to Receive Honorary Degree" (Press release). Brown University. September 8, 2009. {{cite press release}}: Check |url= value (help)

[70] "Eiti Awards Government for Progress, As President Sirleaf Returns Home" (Press release). AllAfrica.com. February 18, 2009.

[71] "UT Honorary Doctorate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Named Nobel Peace Prize Recipient". The University of Tampa. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.

[72] Zuckerman, Esther (May 23, 2010). "Liberian president to receive honorary degree". Yale Daily News.

[73] "2010 Commencement/Convocations". Rutgers University. May 25, 2010.

[74] "President Sirleaf Receives African Editors Honor" (Press release). Monrovia: The Executive Mansion. October 18, 2010.

[75] ttp://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/05/harvard-to-award-nine-honorary-degrees/

[76] (Press release). Monrovia: The Executive Mansion. June 18, 2011 title='You Have Brought Honor to All African Women,’ Senegal’s Wade Says http://emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1919 title='You Have Brought Honor to All African Women,’ Senegal’s Wade Says. {{cite press release}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing pipe in: |url= (help)

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v t e Laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize
1901–1925	1901: Henry Dunant / Frédéric Passy 1902: Élie Ducommun / Charles Gobat 1903: Randal Cremer 1904: Institut de Droit International 1905: Bertha von Suttner 1906: Theodore Roosevelt 1907: Ernesto Moneta / Louis Renault 1908: Klas Arnoldson / Fredrik Bajer 1909: A. M. F. Beernaert / Paul Estournelles de Constant 1910: International Peace Bureau 1911: Tobias Asser / Alfred Fried 1912: Elihu Root 1913: Henri La Fontaine 1914 1915 1916 1917: International Committee of the Red Cross 1918 1919: Woodrow Wilson 1920: Léon Bourgeois 1921: Hjalmar Branting / Christian Lange 1922: Fridtjof Nansen 1923 1924 1925: Austen Chamberlain / Charles Dawes
1926–1950	1926: Aristide Briand / Gustav Stresemann 1927: Ferdinand Buisson / Ludwig Quidde 1928 1929: Frank B. Kellogg 1930: Nathan Söderblom 1931: Jane Addams / Nicholas Butler 1932 1933: Norman Angell 1934: Arthur Henderson 1935: Carl von Ossietzky 1936: Carlos Saavedra Lamas 1937: Robert Cecil 1938: Nansen International Office for Refugees 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944: International Committee of the Red Cross 1945: Cordell Hull 1946: Emily Balch / John Mott 1947: Friends Service Council / American Friends Service Committee 1948 1949: John Boyd Orr 1950: Ralph Bunche
1951–1975	1951: Léon Jouhaux 1952: Albert Schweitzer 1953: George C. Marshall 1954: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1955 1956 1957: Lester B. Pearson 1958: Georges Pire 1959: Philip Noel-Baker 1960: Albert Luthuli 1961: Dag Hammarskjöld 1962: Linus Pauling 1963: International Committee of the Red Cross / League of Red Cross Societies 1964: Martin Luther King Jr. 1965: UNICEF 1966 1967 1968: René Cassin 1969: International Labour Organization 1970: Norman Borlaug 1971: Willy Brandt 1972 1973: Lê Đức Thọ (declined award) / Henry Kissinger 1974: Seán MacBride / Eisaku Satō 1975: Andrei Sakharov
1976–2000	1976: Betty Williams / Mairead Corrigan 1977: Amnesty International 1978: Anwar Sadat / Menachem Begin 1979: Mother Teresa 1980: Adolfo Pérez Esquivel 1981: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1982: Alva Myrdal / Alfonso García Robles 1983: Lech Wałęsa 1984: Desmond Tutu 1985: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War 1986: Elie Wiesel 1987: Óscar Arias 1988: UN Peacekeeping Forces 1989: Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama) 1990: Mikhail Gorbachev 1991: Aung San Suu Kyi 1992: Rigoberta Menchú 1993: Nelson Mandela / F. W. de Klerk 1994: Shimon Peres / Yitzhak Rabin / Yasser Arafat 1995: Pugwash Conferences / Joseph Rotblat 1996: Carlos Belo / José Ramos-Horta 1997: International Campaign to Ban Landmines / Jody Williams 1998: John Hume / David Trimble 1999: Médecins Sans Frontières 2000: Kim Dae-jung
2001–present	2001: United Nations / Kofi Annan 2002: Jimmy Carter 2003: Shirin Ebadi 2004: Wangari Maathai 2005: International Atomic Energy Agency / Mohamed ElBaradei 2006: Grameen Bank / Muhammad Yunus 2007: Al Gore / Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2008: Martti Ahtisaari 2009: Barack Obama 2010: Liu Xiaobo 2011: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf / Leymah Gbowee / Tawakkol Karman 2012: European Union 2013: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 2014: Kailash Satyarthi / Malala Yousafzai 2015: Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet 2016: Juan Manuel Santos 2017: International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons 2018: Denis Mukwege / Nadia Murad 2019: Abiy Ahmed 2020: World Food Programme 2021: Maria Ressa / Dmitry Muratov 2022: Ales Bialiatski / Memorial / Center for Civil Liberties 2023: Narges Mohammadi 2024: to be announced

v t e 2011 Nobel Prize laureates
Chemistry	Dan Shechtman (Israel)
Literature (2011)	Tomas Tranströmer (Sweden)
Peace (2011)	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia) Leymah Gbowee (Liberia) Tawakkul Karman (Yemen)
Physics	Saul Perlmutter (United States) Adam Riess (United States) Brian P. Schmidt (Australia/United States)
Physiology or Medicine	Bruce A. Beutler (United States) Jules A. Hoffmann (France) Ralph M. Steinman (Canada/United States)
Economic Sciences	Christopher A. Sims (United States) Thomas J. Sargent (United States)
Nobel Prize recipients 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016