LIBERIA: Africa's first female president, Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf talks about being a woman in politics and rebuilding her country after years of war, while at the same time being a mother

Record ID: 751766

  • Title: LIBERIA: Africa's first female president, Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf talks about being a woman in politics and rebuilding her country after years of war, while at the same time being a mother
  • Date: 4th March 2010
  • Summary: MONROVIA, LIBERIA (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LIBERIANS ON MONROVIA STREETS
  • Embargoed: 19th March 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Liberia
  • Country: Liberia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7G4U9MFUJKFUCB7BD95QGX6DE
  • Story Text: Liberia's president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf made history in 2005 when she was declared Africa's first female president. At the time, Johnson-Sirleaf faced the uphill task of rebuilding a country shattered by 14 years of war.
    Johnson-Sirleaf beat her main rival former Chelsea footballer, George Weah and became the first woman to lead an African country.
    The then-67-year old had gone from waiting tables while at Harvard, to being a government minister in Liberia, to working as an economist in exile after she'd criticised the military regime of the 1980s.
    In an interview with Reuters, Johnson-Sirleaf said her role was exciting and challenging.
    "I have an opportunity to open the doors for more African women to hold high level political positions, challenging because I represent the aspirations and expectations of Liberian African women, maybe women all over the world therefore the pressure is on me to make sure that I succeed," said Johnson-Sirleaf.
    Once she was president, world leaders lined up to do business with her, hoping for a slice of Liberia's abundant raw materials, as Johnson-Sirleaf sought investment for an economy devastated by war. However, critics complain reforms have been slow.
    "The Economic Intelligence Unit has named Liberia one of the 10 countries that should enjoy the fastest growth rate in the next 5 years or so and so I believe that if we can just manage to maintain the peace, if we can manage to provide job opportunities for our young people, get them on to training programs and schools and what not and begin to open the economy and if we get through the next elections which should be our defining moment because we want it to be peaceful we want it to be fair we want it to be free, we want the peoples choice to truly prevail, if that happens, I think, just give Liberia 5 years and I think you will see a country that's really really having accomplished so much that it will be a model as a post conflict success story," said Johnson-Sirleaf.
    But her tenure has not been without controversy. Last year, Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said Sirleaf should be banned from public office for 30 years for backing a rebellion led by former war lord, Charles Taylor, who's now facing charges in the Hague for war crimes. In her defence Johnson-Sirleaf explained that she had provided Taylor with money but was misled into supporting him.
    She's also been criticised for planning to stand for another term in 2011, something she'd initially said she wouldn't do.
    Away from politics, Johnson-Sirleaf is a mother of four sons and has seven grandchildren. She said African women are at an advantage because they are able to rely on the "extended family unit" although the tough balance did affect her marriage.
    "Fortunately we have the extended family system in Africa so when I went back to school for example, my husband and I we left the four sons divided among the two grandmothers if I would not have had that I would never have had the opportunity to go back to school. But it's still tough, in the end my marriage broke up because I was pursuing a professional career so it's tough and that is why I say women will have to really be determined you really have to have that fire in your belly if you want to go for high political office. It's going to be difficult because women carry both the burden of being a professional for those who are and also being the one who takes care of the home an you've got to juggle the two," said Johnson-Sirleaf.
    Johnson-Sirleaf also known as Africa's "Iron Lady" congratulated women for making progress in different sectors and said International Women's day was a reminder for them to do more: "Women today are on the move, women are competitive they are leaders not just decision makers, women are going to do everything they can to establish their leadership role in society. Women have equal opportunity today and they are going to take advantage of it. On international women's day I say bravo to all the women of the world who have achieved so much and who still have a long way to go to achieve even more."
    Johnson-Sirleaf took office in 2006 and promised to take Liberia, Africa's oldest independent republic still recovering from the 1989-2003 civil war, away from debt and rampant corruption.
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