I believe that there are certain attributes in a woman that give her some advantages over a man. Women are usually more honest, more sensitive to issues and bring a stronger sense of commitment and dedication to what they do. Maybe because they were mothers, and being a mother, you have that special attention for the family, for the young, for children.
In the 1960’s and 70’s in Africa many countries were struggling for independence. Tragically, unscrupulous and corrupt individuals took advantage of the people by making promises of freedom to them while their real intent was to get power. The Central African Republic is just one example. This country has been unstable since its liberation from France in 1960. “All across Africa – indeed, all around the world the times were changing. … It was a wild, unsettled, turbulent time, and now Liberia was thrust in the middle of it.”[1]
This was the setting when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, trusting in God and her own potential, gave her life to bringing unity, freedom, and prosperity to Liberia.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was born on October 29, 1938, in Monrovia, Liberia. She is the granddaughter of a traditional chief of the Gola tribe of great renown who was often called Jahmale the Peacemaker. Her heritage not only includes ancestry from the Gola tribe but also from immigrants who arrived in Liberia – Americo-Liberians.
Many former slaves from the United States settled in Liberia.[2] The Americo-Liberians brought their American ways with them. Liberia is the oldest Republic in Africa. The Americo-Liberians controlled the government in Liberia for many years, keeping the indigenous people out. Ellen’s father was the first indigenous Liberian to sit in the national legislature. There was much tension between the Americo-Liberians and the indigenous peoples. Disunity was the unsurprising result. It was into this atmosphere of animosity and distrust that Ellen was born. It was a lifelong dream for her to bring unity to Liberians.
Ellen’s mother, Martha Dunbar, was a devout Christian. She opened a school near their house. She became an itinerant minister in the Presbyterian Church preaching the Word of God. Ellen loved her mother and grandmother and attended church with them. Many times throughout her life Ellen would give credit to God for protecting her.
Ellen received an education in West Africa and in the United States. Very bright and gifted she studied economics and business administration, receiving a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1971. She returned to Liberia to serve in the government as the minister of finance under Pres. William Tolbert (1972-73) and under the military dictator Samuel K. Doe (1980-1985).
Because integrity was important to Ellen she clashed with the Pres. Doe. Doe had turned into a lawless, overbearing dictator with unlimited power to get anything he wanted. He enriched himself at the expense of the people. Doe could not stand any opposition and had Ellen declared a traitor and imprisoned. Prison life was horrible; a soldier tried to rape her, but she narrowly escaped. She was released and forced into exile. She spent 12 years in Kenya and the United States. Citibank hired her as an economist. This experience would help her later when she ran for president.
Returning to Liberia in 1997, after a truce had been declared, Ellen ran for president with the Unity Party. She finished second to Charles Taylor. Taylor turned out to be another corrupt and ruthless dictator. Ellen fled to neighboring Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) rather than be a part of Taylor’s government. Still concerned about the Liberians that she always loved she continued to work for them. She founded an NGO which provided venture capital for African Entrepreneurs called Measuagoon, a Gola term that means, “You and I are one” or “We are one.”
Civil war raged in Liberia until 2003. The corrupt and self-seeking Taylor stole money from the people only to use for guns and ammunition. He impressed thousands of boys into the military essentially making them into hardened criminals. While Taylor was waging war the instability caused the infrastructure, agriculture, development, hospitals, schools and other essentials to suffer. Taylor was eventually brought to justice and later convicted of war crimes.
In 2005 Ellen ran for president again. She promised the people that she would maintain peace, rebuild the infrastructure, provide education for all children including girls, and end corruption. She had an uphill battle. She did not know what effect being a woman would have on her chances. Friends went out and did surveys for her. It seemed that people were willing and eager to give her a chance. Here was one answer they received often, “Men have failed us,” people said over and over again. “Men are too violent, too prone to make war. Women are less corrupt, less likely to be focused on getting fancy cars and fancy home for themselves.”[3]
She came in second in the general election which contained 22 candidates (only one other woman). The top 5 were chosen for a runoff election on November 8, 2005, and she won against a very popular man, football legend, George Weah. Ellen was inaugurated on January 16, 2006, becoming the first woman president in an African country. Proving her words about unity and peace, she invited Weah to join her government. He declined but had allowed some of his supporters to take important posts in Ellen’s government.[4]
I don’t face any particular problems as a women president because I have been a professional for a long time. I keep telling people: I am a technocrat who happens to be a woman.
Ellen had to deal with the aftermath of many years of corrupt government. At least 200,000 people had been killed. Unemployment was running at 80%. Over 100,000 ex-soldiers had to find a place in society. Boys who only knew how to harass villagers and even kill needed help to fit back into normal society. Education became a priority. Teachers had fled Liberia and needed to be brought back. Ellen began free education for grades one to six. Enrollment for girls increased 40% the first year.
During the war 75% of women and girls had been raped or sexually abused. Ellen established a tough law with a special court to prosecute perpetrators. Convictions are still minimal, but at least awareness of this societal evil had been brought to everyone’s attention. Ellen turned the tide the other way.
Known as Ma Ellen, she longed to empower women and girls to be involved in all areas of life. “My Administration shall thus endeavor to give Liberian women prominence in all affairs of our country. My administration shall empower Liberian women in all areas of our national life. We will support and increase the writ of laws that restore their dignities and deal drastically with crimes that dehumanize them.”[5]
Also known as the “Iron Lady”, Ellen overcame many challenges as she worked for unity and peace. She led the Liberians through reconciliation after the decades long civil war. She won international acclaim for how she dealt with the Ebola crisis and for her achievements in economic, social, and political change. She won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2011. Ellen also was given the highest civilian award in America – The Presidential Medal of Freedom.
President George W. Bush awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf during a ceremony Monday, Nov. 5, 2007, in the East Room. “When free elections returned to Liberia, the voters made history,” said President Bush. “They chose her to be the first woman ever elected to lead a nation on the continent of Africa.”
Other accolades include:
- Honorary doctorates by more than 15 institutions, including: Tilburg University (Netherlands), the Nigerian Defense Academy, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Harvard University, Rutgers University, Yale University, Georgetown University, the University of Abeokuta (Nigeria), the University of Minnesota, Furman University of South Carolina, Brown University, Indiana University, Dartmouth College, Concordia University, Langston University, Spelman College and Marquette University.
- Numerous honors, including: the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace Disarmament and Development (2012), the African Gender Award (2011), Friend of the Media Award (2010), FUECH Grand Cross Award (2009), FAO’s CERES Medal (2008), Golden Plate Award (2008), International Women’s Leadership Award (2008), International Crisis Group Fred Cuny Award for the Prevention of Deadly Crisis (2008); James and Eunice K. Matthews Bridge Building Award (2008), American Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award (2008), National Civil Rights Museum Annual Freedom Award (2007), National Democratic Institute Harriman Award (2007), Bishop T. Walker Humanitarian Award (2007), Gold Medal of the President of the Italian Republic (2006), Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger (2006), National Reconciliation Award (2006), International Woman of the Year (2006), and International Republican Institute Freedom Award (2006).
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been ranked among the top 100 most powerful women in the world (Forbes, 2012), the most powerful woman in Africa (Forbes Africa, 2011), one of six “Women of the Year” (Glamour, 2010), among the 10 best leaders in the world (Newsweek, 2010) and top 10 female leaders (TIME, 2010). In 2010, The Economist called her “the best President the country has ever had.”
- Ellen is the proud mother of four sons and grandmother of 12.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a truly remarkable women who deserves honor and respect. She does have one advantage though that African American women do not have. Black women in this country suffer discrimination for their race and their gender. Though Ellen was sometimes distrusted by those who thought she was pure Americo-Liberian, she was able to show her indigenous ancestry. She was in a good position to bring unity to Liberians.
“Once the glass ceiling has been broken, it can never be put back together, however one would try to do that. … Women are working for change and I will be with them, and one of them, forever.” “I demand more rights for women because I know what women can do.”
Today, Ellen serves as 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.
[1] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa’s First Women President (New York: Harper Perennial, 2009) pages 63-64.
[2] For a summary of Liberia’s history that is readable and enjoyable please see the Prologue in: This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa’s First Women President. pages 1-6.
[3] Sirleaf, page250.
[4] George Manneh Oppong Weah is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, serving in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County.
[5] Sirleaf, pages 333-334.
