Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

About Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

The first elected female head of state in Africa. Johnson Sirleaf became President of Liberia in 2006, rebuilding a country devastated by 14 years of civil war. She was a Harvard educated economist who had worked at the World Bank. Johnson Sirleaf negotiated debt relief worth 4.6 billion dollars and attracted foreign investment. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her work on womens rights. Her presidency was not without controversy, including criticism for supporting her son in a corruption scandal. She stepped down in 2018 after two terms, overseeing the first democratic transfer of power in Liberia in 73 years.