Liberia's former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf turns 88
The Nobel laureate peacefully transferred power in 2018 after a career marked by outspokenness and exile.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia's first female president and a Nobel laureate, celebrated her 88th birthday on October 29. She famously handed power to George Manneh Weah in January 2018, marking the first peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in Liberia in 74 years. Sirleaf's departure followed her expulsion from her own party, and many citizens blamed her for unfulfilled promises.
Born in 1938, Sirleaf's family lore suggested she would achieve greatness. Her father was a Gola chief and legislator, while her mother was a teacher of Kru and German heritage. She studied at Madison Business College in Wisconsin and earned a master's degree from Harvard's Kennedy School. As finance minister in 1979, she warned of corruption and economic mismanagement under President William Tolbert.
Sirleaf faced political turmoil, including a prison sentence for sedition after criticising Samuel Doe's regime in 1985. She was later arrested again following a failed coup. She also served as a senator in Doe's rigged 1985 election but refused to take the seat in protest.
Why it mattersLiberians experienced a peaceful transfer of power in 2018, but many still felt unfulfilled promises from the outgoing administration.