The Best of Africa-Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born 29 October 1938) is the 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 distant second in the 1997 presidential election. Later, she was elected President in the 2005 presidential election and took office on 16 January 2006.
Often referred to as the “Iron Lady”, Johnson-Sirleaf is Africa’s first elected female head of state.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was born in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, to educated parents. Her ethnic background is 1/2 Gola from her father’s side, and 1/4 Kru and 1/4 German from her mother’s side.
Johnson-Sirleaf’s father, Jahmale Carney Johnson, was born into rural poverty. He was the son of a Gola chief named Jahmale and one of his wives, Jenneh, in Julijuah, Bomi County. 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.[4] He grew up in Monrovia where he was raised by an Americo-Liberian family with the surname McGritty. Johnson-Sirleaf’s father later became the first Liberian from an indigenous ethnic group to sit in the country’s national legislature.
Her mother was also born into poverty in Greenville, Liberia. Her grandmother Juah Sarwee sent Johnson-Sirleaf’s mother to Monrovia when Johnson-Sirleaf’s German grandfather had to flee the country after Liberia declared war on Germany during World War . A member of a prominent Americo-Liberian family, Cecilia Dunbar, adopted and raised Sirleaf-Johnson’s mother.
While not Americo-Liberian by ancestry, Johnson-Sirleaf is considered culturally Americo-Liberian by some observers or assumed to be Americo-Liberian. However, Johnson-Sirleaf does not identify as such.
Johnson-Sirleaf studied economics and accounts from 1948 to 1955 at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. She was married to James Sirleaf when she was only 17 years old, and then traveled to America in 1961 to continue her studies at the University of Colorado where she eventually earned a degree. Johnson-Sirleaf then 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 home country of Liberia to work under the government of William Tolbert.
In the first round of 2005 voting, she came second with 175,520 votes, putting her through to the runoff vote on 8 November against former soccer player George Weah. On 11 November, the National Elections Commission of Liberia declared Johnson Sirleaf to be president-elect of Liberia. On 23 November, 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 supporters said she had two advantages over the man she faced in the run-off – former football star George Weah – she is better educated and is a woman. Her inauguration took place on 16 January 2006; foreign attendees of the ceremony included Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush and Michaëlle Jean.
