Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
President of Liberia

Building Democracy in Africa

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 7:00 p.m., Friday, May 18, 2007

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - Biography

Ellen was born in 1938 in Monrovia, Liberia, daughter of the first native representative in the Liberian national legislature. Her grandfather, Jahmale had been a Gola Chief in the village of Julejah, Bomi County, and had sent her father at a young age to Monrovia for schooling and to be raised by an Americo-Liberian family. The father’s name was changed to Johnson in honor of a former president of Liberia, Hilary Robert Wright Johnson, who had been a friend of Ellen’s grandfather. Ellen’s mother was the daughter of a German trader and a Liberian woman who was a successful marketer and farmer. Her mother had also been sent to Monrovia where she lived with a settler family who provided an education and a measure of security.

From 1948 to 1955 Ellen studied accounts and economics at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. After marriage at the age of 17 to James Sirleaf, she travelled to America (in 1961) and continued her studies, achieving a degree from the University of Colorado. From 1969 to 71 she read economics at Harvard, gaining a masters degree in public administration.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf then returned to Liberia and began working in William Tolbert's (True Whig Party) government. Her start in politics came upon her return to Liberia when she was appointed as Assistant Minister of Finance. She rose subsequently to be Minister of Finance, but left after one year over a dispute about public spending.

Since its founding in 1868, with freed ex-slaves from the U.S., Liberian politics had been dominated by Americo-Liberians. The social inequalities between indigenous Liberians and Americo-Liberians has lead to much of the political and social strife in the country. As the 70s progressed, life under Liberia's one-party state became more polarised - to the benefit of the Americo-Liberian elite.

On 12 April 1980 Master Sergeant Samuel Kayon Doe, a member of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group, seized power in a military coup and President William Tolbert was executed along with several members of his cabinet by firing squad. With the People's Redemption Council now in power, Samuel Doe began a purge of government. Ellen narrowly escaped - choosing exile in Kenya.

From 1983 to 85 she served as Director of Citibank in Nairobi, but when Samuel Doe declared himself president of the Republic in 1984 and unbanned political parties, she decided to return. During the 1985 elections Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf campaigned against Doe, and was placed under house arrest. Sentenced to ten years in prison, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf spent just a short time incarcerated, before being allowed to leave the country once again as an exile.

During the 1980s she served as Vice President of both the African Regional Office of Citibank, in Nairobi, and of (HSCB) Equator Bank, in Washington. Back in Liberia civil unrest erupted once more. On 9 September 1990, Samuel Doe was killed by a splinter group from Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia.

From 1992 to 97 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf worked as Assistant Administrator, and then Director, of the UN Development Program Regional Bureau for Africa (essentially an Assistant Secretary-General of the UN).

Meanwhile in Liberia an interim government was put in power, lead by a succession of four un-elected officials (the last of whom, Ruth Sando Perry, was Africa's first female leader). By 1996 the presence of West African peacekeepers created a lull in the civil war, and elections were held. 

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf returned to Liberia in 1997 to contest the election. She came second to Charles Taylor (gaining 10% of the vote compared to his 75%) out of a field of 14 candidates. The election was declared free and fair by international observers. (Johnson-Sirleaf campaigned against Taylor and was charged with treason.) By 1999 civil war had returned to Liberia, and Taylor was accused of interfering with his neighbours, fomenting unrest and rebellion.

On 11 August 2003, after much persuasion, Charles Taylor handed power over to his deputy Moses Blah. The new interim government and rebel groups signed an historic peace accord and set about installing a new head of state. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was proposed as a possible candidate, but in the end the diverse groups selected Charles Gyude Bryant, a political neutral. Johnson-Sirleaf served as head of the Governance Reform Commission.

Liberia's 2005 Election: Ellen played an active role in the transitional government as the country prepared for the 2005 elections, and eventually stood for president against her rival the ex-international footballer, George Manneh Weah. Despite the elections being called fair and orderly, Weah repudiated the result, which gave a majority to Johnson-Sirleaf, and the announcement of Liberia's new president was postponed, pending an investigation. On 23 November 2005, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was declared the winner of the Liberian election and confirmed as the country's next president. Her inauguration, attended by the likes of US First Lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, took place on Monday 16 January, 2006.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, divorced mother of four boys and grandmother to six children is Liberia's first elected female president, as well as the first elected female leader on the continent.