Johnson-Sirleaf Inaugurated as Liberian President
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Longtime political activist makes history
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf made history as Liberia's first democratically elected female president and the first female president of any African country.
A longtime political activist and government leader, she's had a distinguished career spanning nearly four decades in local and international public life. She's a Harvard-trained economist who has held a number of prominent positions, which include Minister of Finance and Governor for Liberia for several financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, The African Development Bank and the World Bank.
She was also one of the seven international eminent persons designated in 1999 by the Organization of African Unity to investigate the Rwanda genocide.
Johnson-Sirleaf is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha's Eta Beta Omega Chapter, the sorority's first international chapter, chartered in 1957.
In her inaugural address, Soror Johnson-Sirleaf said, "We know that your vote was a vote for change, a vote for peace, security; and we have heard you loudly." She asked for a moment of silence for the thousands who died in Liberia's civil war.
The mother of four and grandmother to six has pledged to bring the "motherly sensitivity and emotion to the presidency" needed to heal the problems that plague Liberia following years of warfare.