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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia

September 19, 2008

Internationally known as Africa’s “Iron Lady,” President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a leading promoter of peace, justice, and democratic rule. In November 2005, she was elected president of Liberia and became the first woman to lead an African nation. The Harvard-educated former World Bank economist won the election with 59.4 percent of the vote.

Before her election, Johnson Sirleaf worked to bring justice to the people of Liberia and spent more than a year in jail during the military dictatorship of General Samuel Doe. After her life was threatened by former president Charles Taylor, Johnson Sirleaf campaigned relentlessly for his removal from office and played an active role in establishing the Transitional Government of Liberia as the country prepared for elections in 2005.

President Johnson Sirleaf previously served as chair of the Governance Reform Commission of the National Transitional Government of Liberia. She resigned in 2004 to accept the nomination of the Unity Party of Liberia as its standard-bearer. Before that, she served for five years as assistant administrator and director of the Regional Bureau for Africa and was the first woman to lead the United Nations Development Project for Africa. She served in several -financial positions, including first woman minister of finance for Liberia, vice president of Citicorp, vice president of the HSBC Equator Bank, and senior loan officer of the World Bank.

Johnson Sirleaf’s many honors include the Commander de l’Ordre du Mono (Togo, 1996), the Ralph Bunche International Leadership Award (United States, 1995 and 1996), the Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom of Speech Award (United States, 1988), and the Grand Commander of the Star of African Redemption (Liberia, 1980).