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Quick Facts
- NAME: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
- OCCUPATION: World Leader
- BIRTH DATE: October 29, 1938 (Age: 73)
- EDUCATION: College of West Africa, Madison Business College, University of Colorado at Boulder, Harvard University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Monrovia, Liberia
- ZODIAC SIGN: Scorpio
Best Known For
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the world's first elected black female president and Africa's first elected female head of state.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 10:37, May 24, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269, May 24
" Ellen Johnson Sirleaf." 2012. Biography.com 24 May 2012, 10:37 http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269
' Ellen Johnson Sirleaf', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269 [accessed May 24, 2012]
" Ellen Johnson Sirleaf," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269 (accessed May 24, 2012).
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 24]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269 (last visited May 24, 2012).
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269 (last visited May 24, 2012).
Synopsis
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was schooled in the U.S. before serving in the government of her native Liberia. A military coup in 1980 sent her into exile, but she returned in 1985 to speak out against the military regime. She was forced to briefly leave the country again. When she won the 2005 election, Johnson-Sirleaf became the first female elected head of state in Africa. In 2011, she was one of a trio of women to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Contents
Quotes
"Be not afraid to denounce injustice, though you may be outnumbered. Be not afraid to seek peace, even if your voice may be small. Be not afraid to demand peace."
President of Liberia. Born October 29, 1938 in Monrovia, Liberia. A graduate of the College of West Africa at Monrovia, Johnson Sirleaf received her Bachelor's in accounting at Madison Business College in Madison, Wisconsin, a degree in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
After returning to Liberia, Johnson Sirleaf served as Assistant Minister of Finance in President William Tolbert's administration. In 1980, Tolbert was overthrown and killed by army sergeant Samuel Doe, who represented the Krahn ethnic group. Johnson-Sirleaf went into exile in Nairobi, Kenya, and the United States where she worked as an executive in the international banking community.
In 1985, Johnson-Sirleaf returned to Liberia and ran for the Senate, but when she spoke out against Doe's military regime, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She served a partial sentence before moving to Washington D.C. When she returned to her native country for a third time in 1997 it was as an economist, working for the World Bank and Citibank in Africa.
After supporting Charles Taylor's bloody rebellion against President Samuel Doe in 1990, Johnson-Sirleaf ran unsuccessfully against Taylor in the 1997 presidential election. Taylor subsequently charged Johnson-Sirleaf with treason. In 2005, after campaigning for the removal of President Taylor, Johnson-Sirleaf took over leadership of the Unity Party. That year, promising economic development and an end to corruption and civil war, the "iron lady" was elected President of Liberia. When she was inaugurated in 2006, Johnson Sirleaf became the world's first elected black female president and Africa's first elected female head of state.
Despite the large number of Charles Taylor's followers in Liberian government, including his son-in-law and estranged wife, President Johnson Sirleaf submitted an official request to Nigeria for Taylor's extradition in 2006.
Johnson Sirleaf has four sons and six grandchildren, some of whom live in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Notable Female Leaders
View groupTaken together, female leaders don't always have much in common, aside from gender. Some have brought peace to troubled lands, while others have strewn discontent. Some have been competent or brilliant, others inept or corrupt. Some enormously popular, others ousted. They come from political positions ranging from arch-conservative to ultra-leftist, represent all the world's religions, have been warmongers and peace lovers. All that can be said with certainty is that they have been women in charge.
Notable Female Leaders 28 people in this group
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Nobel Peace Prize Winners
View groupWhen Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel died in 1896, he left his fortune to create an annual series of prizes for the individuals who confer "the greatest benefit on mankind." The most prestigious of the awards is the Nobel Peace Prize. Historians believe Alfred Nobel wanted to award people who work for peace to compensate for his own role in inventing dynamite. Since its establishment, the prize has gone to many courageous individuals who have fought for peace and human rights around the world.
Nobel Peace Prize Winners 45 people in this group
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Famous Scorpios 448 people in this group
