In the fall of 2005, for the first time after a brutal, 14-year civil war that had ended two years before, Liberia held national elections. The November 8 runoff offered voters two choices: George Weah, a famous footballer with little education or government experience, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated international finance expert. The women of Liberia, who had borne the brunt of the country’s violence, knew who they wanted; it was largely they who, in an enormous showing of political resolve, made Johnson Sirleaf Liberia’s first female president, and the first elected female head of state in Africa. By then, Johnson Sirleaf, a 67-year-old grandmother, already had a long and varied career behind her. Read more of this reportSource: News Now /The Atlantic Online/Reuters News Agency(Visited 14 times, 14 visits today)Commentscomments

Source: GNN Liberia March 09, 2017 09:45 UTC