Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Overview

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf born Monrovia, Liberia October 29, 1938. Director of UN Development Fund for Africa, 1992-97; leader in campaign against wartime violence against women; authored UN report on women in war, 2002. Elected first female president of African nation, 2005; shared Nobel Peace Prize with Leymah Gbowee & Tawakkol Karman, 2011.

Quotations

"During the years of our civil war, they (Liberian women) bore the brunt of inhumanity and terror. They were conscripted into war, gang raped at will, forced into domestic slavery. Yet, it is the women who labored and advocated for peace throughout our region." (inaugural address, Jan. 16, 2006; photo Liberian Dialogue, Dec. 21, 2010)