- Born on October 29, 1938 in Monrovia, Liberia.
- Granddaughter of renowned Traditional Chief and daughter of a market woman
- Graduated from College of West Africa at Monrovia
- Married at age 17 and moved to the U.S. in 1961, soon divorced husband due to his abusive tendencies
- 1970: Received her bachelor's degree in accounting from the Madison Business College
- 1969- 1971: Earned degree in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder & a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University.
- 1972: became Assistant minister of Finance to President William Tolbert
- Gave speech to the Liberian Chamber of Commerce that claimed the country's corporations were harming the economy by hoarding or sending their profits overseas.
- 1973: Johnson resigned after getting into a disagreement about spending with President Tolbert
- 1979 to 1980: Minister of Finance
- 1980: Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, a member of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group, seized power
- Tolbert was assassinated and all but four members of his cabinet were executed by firing squad.
- The People's Redemption Council took control of the country and led a purge against the former government.
- Sirleaf accepted a post in the new government as President of the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment but later fled the country after publicly criticizing Doe and the People's Redemption Council for their management of the country.
- Issued an Executive Order making education free for all elementary school aged children.
- Legalized Freedom of Information bill, the first of its kind in West Africa
- Became the first sitting head of state to receive the Friend of the Media in Africa Award from The African Editor's Union
- Reduced national debt within 4 years
- Sirleaf established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in order to "promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation" by investigating more than 20 years of civil conflict in the country.
- One of Forbes top 100 most influential women.
- Honorary Doctor of Laws at multiple universities
- 1988: Roosevelt Institute Freedom of Speech Award
- 2006: David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award
- 2006: Laureate of the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger
- 2007: Presidential Medal of Freedom
- 2011: Nobel Peace Prize
- 2012: Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development
- During her time at the UN, she was 1/7 designated in 1999 by the Organization of African Unity to investigate the Rwandan genocide
- 1/5 Commission Chairs for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue
- 1/2 international experts selected to investigate and report on the effect of conflict on women and women's roles in peace building.
- Initial Chairperson of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA)
In 2010, Newsweek magazine listed Johnson Sirleaf as one of the "Ten Best Leaders in the World,"
The Economist called her "the best President the country has ever had.”
FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT OF LIBERIA
$1.25
Monday, December 7, 2015
Vol XCIII, No. 311
Awards
ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF BORN IN 1938
Background
Early Political Career
- In 1985, Johnson Sirleaf returned to Liberia and ran for a seat in the Senate
- Sirleaf was declared the winner of her Senate race but refused the seat in protest of the election fraud.
- 1997: returned to native country as an economist
- 2005: Sirleaf was declared the winner of the Liberian election.
How is she writing her world?
Johnson's Presidency