We Love: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Space constraints of a website like ours prevent us from listing the almost innumerable reasons to admire Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the president of Liberia. Africa’s first elected female head of state and Liberia’s first elected female president, President Johnson-Sirleaf took office in January 2006 and launched the nation’s political recovery following years of civil wars and domestic strife. Her rise to power is featured in the award-winning documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, that describes the effort of women in Liberia to end the country’s second civil war, culminating in the toppling of Charles Taylor’s bloody, corrupt regime—during which more than 250,000 people were killed and thousands of others were displaced—and Johnson-Sirleaf’s election to the presidency.

President Johnson-Sirleaf traveled a long and rocky road to the capital building in Monrovia, and this trip alone is worthy of our admiration. Between serving as the nation’s finance minister in the late 1970s and being elected president in 2005, she was forced to flee in exile, was charged with treason, and jailed twice. Yet she never gave up her pursuit of social and political justice for Liberia, and remains committed to righting her beloved country and creating opportunities and equity for all Liberians, expressing hope that her nation will become “a brilliant beacon, an example to Africa and the world of what love of liberty can achieve.”

Liberia’s problems are vast and not easily solved—but fortunately for the people of this country, their leader’s nickname “The Iron Lady” refers not to her fist, but to her will. May the eyes of the world continue to watch as Johnson-Sirleaf continues to engender positive change and make history.