Conventional long name	Republic of Liberia
Common name	Liberia
Image coat	Coat of arms of Liberia.svg
Map caption	Location of Liberia within the African Union
National motto	The love of liberty brought us here
National anthem	File:Liberia National Anthem.ogg "All Hail, Liberia, Hail!"
Official languages	English
Demonym	Liberian
Capital	Monrovia
Largest city	Monrovia
Government type	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
Leader title1	President
Leader title2	Vice President
Leader name1
Leader name2	Joseph Boakai
Leader title3	Speaker of the House
Leader name3	Alex J. Tyler
Leader title4	Chief Justice
Leader name4	Johnnie Lewis
Legislature	Legislature of Liberia
Upper house	Senate
Lower house	House of Representatives
Area rank	103rd
Area magnitude	1 E11
Area km2	111,369
Area sq mi	43,000
Percent water	13.514
Population estimate	3,786,764
Population estimate year	2011
Population census	3,476,608
Population census year	2008
Population census rank	130th
Population density km2	35.5
Population density sq mi	92.0
Population density rank	180th
Gdp ppp year	2010
Gdp ppp	$1.691 billion
Gdp ppp per capita	$392
Gdp nominal year	2010
Gdp nominal	$974 million
Gdp nominal per capita	$226
Sovereignty type	Formation
Established event1	Established by the American
Established event2	Independence
Established event3	Current constitution
Established date1	1822
Established date2	26 July 1847
Established date3	6 January 1986
Hdi year	2010
Hdi	0.300}}

|HDI_rank = 162nd |HDI_category = low |currency = Liberian dollar¹ |currency_code = LRD |country_code = lr |time_zone = GMT |utc_offset = |time_zone_DST = ''not observed'' |utc_offset_DST = |drives_on = right |cctld = .lr |calling_code = 231 |footnotes = ¹ United States dollar also legal tender. }} Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslands. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country.

Liberia is one of only two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European Scramble for Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by freed American slaves with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organization that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa. Slaves freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. In 1847, these colonists founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists, known as Americo-Liberians, monopolized the political and economic sectors of the country despite comprising only a small percentage of the largely indigenous population.

The country began to modernize in the 1940s following investment by the United States during World War II and economic liberalization under President William Tubman. Liberia was a founding member of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. A military coup overthrew the Americo-Liberian establishment in 1980, marking the beginning of political and economic instability and two successive civil wars that left approximately 250,000 people dead and devastated the country's economy. A 2003 peace deal led to democratic elections in 2005. Today, Liberia is recovering from the lingering effects of the civil war and related economic dislocation, with about 85% of the population living below the international poverty line.

History

The Pepper Coast has been inhabited at least as far back as the 12th century, perhaps earlier. Mende-speaking people expanded westward from Sudan, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward towards the Atlantic ocean. The Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were some of the earliest recorded arrivals. This influx was compounded by the decline of the Western Sudanic Mali Empire in 1375 and later in 1591 with the Songhai Empire. Additionally, inland regions underwent desertification, and inhabitants were pressured to move to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton spinning, cloth weaving, iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai Empires. Shortly after the Manes conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated to into the Grand Cape Mount region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Manes to stop further influx of Vai.

People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast. Between 1461 and late 17th century, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. The Portuguese named the area ''Costa da Pimenta'', meaning Pepper Coast but later translated as Grain Coast, because of the abundance of grains of melegueta pepper. European traders would barter various commodities and goods with local people. When the Kru began trading with Europeans, they initially traded in commodities, but later they actively participated in the African slave trade.

In 1820, the American Colonization Society (ACS) began sending black volunteers to the Pepper Coast to establish a colony for freed American slaves. The ACS, a private organization supported by prominent American politicians such as Henry Clay and James Monroe, believed repatriation was preferable to emancipation of slaves. Similar organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa and the Republic of Maryland, which were later annexed by Liberia. On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution, which created the independent Republic of Liberia.

The new nation largely excluded the indigenous population from the country's affairs. The 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes. In 1877, the Americo-Liberian True Whig Party monopolized political power in the country. Competition for office was usually contained within the party, whose nomination virtually ensured election. Pressure from the United Kingdom and France led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories, which were annexed by the colonial powers. Economic development was hindered by the decline of markets for Liberian goods in the late 19th century and by indebtedness on a series of international loans.

In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. Both the Freeport of Monrovia and Roberts International Airport were built by U.S. personnel through the Lend-Lease program during World War II. President William Tubman encouraged foreign investment in the country, resulting in the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s. Liberia also began to take a more active role in international affairs. It was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and became a vocal critic of the South African apartheid regime. Liberia also served as a proponent both of African independence from the European colonial powers and of Pan-Africanism, helping to found the Organization of African Unity.

On April 12, 1980, a military coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group overthrew and killed President William R. Tolbert, Jr.. Doe and the other plotters later executed a majority of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members. The coup leaders formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC) to govern the country. A strategic Cold War ally, Doe received significant financial backing from the United States, even as critics condemned the PRC for corruption and political repression. After the country adopted a new constitution in 1985, Doe was elected president in subsequent elections that were internationally condemned as fraudulent. On November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers briefly occupied the national radio station. Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops massacred members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba County.

The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, triggering the First Liberian Civil War. By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed that month by rebel forces. The rebels soon split into various factions fighting one another, and the Economic Community Monitoring Group under the Economic Community of West African States organized a military task force to intervene in the crisis. Following a peace deal between the warring parties in 1995, Taylor was elected president in 1997.

Under Taylor's regime, Liberia became internationally known as a pariah state due to his use of blood diamonds and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War. The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Taylor. In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast. Peace talks between the factions began in Accra in June of that year, and Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity that same month. By July 2003, the rebels had launched an assault on Monrovia. Under heavy international pressure, Taylor resigned in August and went into exile in Nigeria, and a peace deal was signed later that month. The United Nations Mission in Liberia began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord, and an interim government took power the following October.

The subsequent 2005 elections were internationally regarded as the most free and fair in Liberian history. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist and former Minister of Finance, was elected as the first female president in Africa. Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and immediately handed him over to the SCSL for trial in The Hague. In 2006, the government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.

Politics

The government of Liberia, modeled on the government of the United States, is a unitary constitutional republic and representative democracy as established by the Constitution. The government has three co-equal branches of government: executive, headed by the president; legislative, consisting of the bicameral Legislature of Liberia; and judicial, made up of the Supreme Court and several lower courts.

The president serves as head of government, head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Among the other duties of the president are to sign or veto legislative bills, grant pardons, and appoint Cabinet members, judges and other public officials. Together with the vice president, the president is elected to a six-year term by majority vote in a two-round system and can serve up to two terms in office.

The Legislature is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House, led by a speaker, has 64 members apportioned among the 15 counties on the basis of the national census, with each county receiving a minimum of two members. Each House member represents an electoral district within a county as drawn by the National Elections Commission and is elected by the popular vote of their district in a two-round system to a six-year term. The Senate is made up of two senators from each county for a total of 30 senators. Senators serve nine-year terms and are elected at-large by popular vote in a two-round system. The vice president serves as the President of the Senate, with a President pro tempore serving in his absence.

Liberia's highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, made up of five members and headed by the Chief Justice of Liberia. Members are nominated to the court by the president and are confirmed by the Senate, serving until the age of 70. The judiciary is further divided into circuit and speciality courts, magistrate courts and justices of the peace. The judicial system follows the Anglo-American common law. An informal system of traditional courts still exists within the rural areas of the country, with trial by ordeal remaining common despite being officially outlawed.

Between 1877 and 1980, the government was dominated by the True Whig Party. Today, over 20 political parties are registered in the country, based largely around personalities and ethnic groups. Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity. The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature.

Liberia scored a 3.3 on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 87th of 178 countries worldwide and 11th of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa. This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries. When seeking attention of a selection of service providers 89% of Liberians had to pay a bribe, the highest national percentage in the world according to the organization's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.

Counties and districts

Liberia is divided into 15 counties, which are subdivided into districts, and further subdivided into ''clans''. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior to Liberian independence. Gbarpolu is the newest county, created in 2001. Nimba is the largest of the counties in size at , while Montserrado is the smallest at . Montserrado is also the most populous county with 1,144,806 residents as of the 2008 census.

The fifteen counties are administered by superintendents appointed by the president. The Constitution calls for the election of mayors and various chiefs at the county and local level, but these elections have not taken place since 1985 due to war and financial constraints. In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the president to appoint mayors until the country could afford to hold municipal elections.

82,036 GbarngaBopuluBuchanan, LiberiaRobertsportZwedruBarclayvilleVoinjamaKakataHarper, LiberiaBensonvilleSanniquellieRiver CessFish TownGreenville, Liberia

County !! Capital !! Population (2008) !! Area !! Created
Bomi County	Bomi	Tubmanburg	|		1984
Bong County	Bong	|	328,919		1964
Gbarpolu County	Gbarpolu	|	83,758		2001
Grand Bassa County	Grand Bassa	Buchanan ||	224,839		1839
Grand Cape Mount County	Grand Cape Mount	|	129,055		1844
Grand Gedeh County	Grand Gedeh	|	126,146		1964
Grand Kru County	Grand Kru	|	57,106		1984
Lofa County	Lofa	|	270,114		1964
Margibi County	Margibi	|	199,689		1985
Maryland County, Liberia	Maryland	Harper ||	136,404		1857
Montserrado County	Montserrado	|	1,144,806		1839
Nimba County	Nimba	|	468,088		1964
River Cess County	River Cess	|	65,862		1985
River Gee County	River Gee	|	67,318		2000
Sinoe County	Sinoe	Greenville ||	104,932		1843

Geography

Liberia is situated in West Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the country's southwest. It lies between latitudes 4° and 9°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°W.

The landscape is characterized by mostly flat to rolling coastal plains that contain mangroves and swamps, which rise to a rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast. Tropical rainforests cover the hills, while elephant grass and semi-deciduous forests make up the dominant vegetation in the northern sections. The equatorial climate is hot year-round with heavy rainfall from May to October with a short interlude in mid-July to August. During the winter months of November to March, dry dust-laden harmattan winds blow inland, causing many problems for residents.

Liberia's watershed tends to move in a southwestern pattern towards the sea as new rains move down the forested plateau off the inland mountain range of Guinée Forestière, in Guinea. Cape Mount near the border with Sierra Leone receives the most precipitation in the nation. The country's main northwestern boundary is traversed by the Mano River while its southeast limits are bounded by the Cavalla River. Liberia's three largest rivers are St. Paul exiting near Monrovia, the river St. John at Buchanan and the Cestos River, all of which flow into the Atlantic. The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation at .

The highest point wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at above sea level in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the Guinea Highlands. However, Mount Nimba near Yekepa, is higher at above sea level but is not wholly within Liberia as Nimba shares a border with Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and is their tallest mountain as well.

Economy

Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of only 15%. In 2010, the country's nominal GDP was US$974 million, while nominal GDP per capita stood at US$226, the third-lowest in the world. Historically, the Liberian economy has depended heavily on foreign aid, foreign direct investment and exports of natural resources such as iron ore, rubber and timber.

Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement following the 1980 coup. This decline was accelerated by the outbreak of civil war in 1989; GDP was reduced by an estimated 90% between 1989 and 1995, one of the fastest declines in history. Upon the end of the war in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching 9.4% in 2007. The global financial crisis slowed GDP growth to 4.6% in 2009, though a strengthening agricultural sector led by rubber and timber exports increased growth to 5.1% in 2010 and an expected 7.3% in 2011, making the economy one of the 20 fastest growing in the world. Current impediments to growth include a small domestic market, lack of adequate infrastructure, high transportation costs, poor trade links with neighboring countries and the high dollarization of the economy. Liberia used the United States dollar as its currency from 1943 until 1982 and continues to use the U.S. dollar alongside the Liberian dollar. Following a decrease in inflation beginning in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result of worldwide food and energy crises, reaching 17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009. Liberia's external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP. As a result of bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt relief from 2007–2010, the country's external debt fell to $222.9 million by 2011.

While official commodity exports declined during the 1990s as many investors fled the civil war, Liberia's wartime economy featured the exploitation of the region's diamond wealth. The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999. This led to a United Nations ban on Liberian diamond exports in 2001, which was lifted in 2007 following Liberia's accession to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. In 2003, additional UN sanctions were placed on Liberian timber exports, which had risen from US$5 million in 1997 to over US$100 million in 2002 and were believed to be funding rebels in Sierra Leone. These sanctions were lifted in 2006. Due in large part to foreign aid and investment inflow following the end of the war, Liberia maintains a large account deficit, which peaked at nearly 60% in 2008. Liberia gained observer status with the World Trade Organization in 2010 and is in the process of acquiring full member status.

Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion in investment since 2006. Following the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration in 2006, the country signed several multi-billion dollar concession agreements in the iron ore and palm oil industries with numerous multinational corporations, including BHP Billiton, ArcelorMittal, and Sime Darby. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company has operated the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia since 1926. Liberia has also begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels. The government divided its offshore waters into 17 blocks and began auctioning off exploration licenses for the blocks in 2004, with further auctions in 2007 and 2009. An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction. Among the companies to have won licenses are Repsol, Chevron, Anadarko and Woodside Petroleum.

Due to its status as a flag of convenience, the country has the second-largest maritime registry in the world behind Panama, with 3,500 vessels registered under its flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.

Infrastructure

Demographics

As of the 2008 national census, Liberia was home to 3,476,608 people. Of those, 1,118,241 lived in Montserrado County, the most populous county in the country and home to the capital of Monrovia, with the Greater Monrovia district home to 970,824 people. Nimba County is the next most populous county with 462,026 residents. Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been held in 1984 and listed the population as 2,101,628. The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974. As of 2006, Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum). Similar to its neighbors, it has a large youth population, with half of the population under the age of 18.

The population includes 16 indigenous ethnic groups and various foreign minorities. Indigenous peoples comprise about 95% of the population, the largest of which are the Kpelle in central and western Liberia. Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of African-American settlers, make up 2.5%, and Congo people, descendants of repatriated Congo and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived in 1825, make up an estimated 2.5%. There is also a sizable number of Lebanese, Indians, and other West African nationals who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community. A small minority of Liberians of European descent reside in the country.

31 indigenous languages are spoken within Liberia, none of which are a first language to more than a small percentage of the population. English is the official language and serves as the ''lingua franca'' of the country. Liberians speak a variety of dialects collectively known as Liberian English.

Education

In 2009, the literacy rate of Liberia was estimated at 59.1% (63.7% for males and 54.5% for females). Primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6-16, though enforcement of attendance is lax. On average, children attain 10 years of education (11 for boys and 8 for girls). The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers.

Higher education is provided by a number of public and private universities. The University of Liberia is the country's largest and oldest university. Located in Monrovia, the university opened in 1862 and today has six colleges, including a medical school and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law. In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County became the second public university in Liberia. Cuttington University, established by the Episcopal Church of the USA in 1889 in Suakoko, Bong County, is the nation's oldest private university. Since 2006, the government has also opened community colleges in Buchanan, Sanniquellie, and Voinjama.

Religion

{{bar box |title=Religion in Liberia |titlebar=#ddd |left1=Religion |right1=percent |float=left |bars= }} According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of the population practices Christianity. Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups. Traditional indigenous religions are practiced by .5% of the population, while 1.5% subscribe to no religion. A small number of people are Bahá'í, Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist. Concurrent participation in indigenous religious secret societies such as Poro and Sande is common, with some Sande societies practicing female genital mutilation.

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right. While separation of church and state is also mandated by the Constitution, Liberia is considered a ''de facto'' Christian state. Public schools offer biblical studies, though parents may opt out their children. Commerce is prohibited by law on Sundays and major Christian holidays. The government does not require businesses or schools to excuse Muslims for Friday prayers.

Health

In 2009, life expectancy in Liberia was estimated at 58 years. With a fertility rate of 5.9 births per woman, the maternal mortality rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010. A number of highly communicable diseases are widespread, including tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases and malaria. In 2007, HIV infection rates stood at 2% of the population aged 15–49 whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was 420 per 100,000 people in 2008. Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple food, and is extremely vulnerable to food shortages. In 2007, 20.4% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished. In 2008, only 17% of the population had access to adequate sanitation facilities.

The civil war destroyed approximately 95% of the country's healthcare facilities. In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22, accounting for 10.6% of total GDP. In 2008, Liberia had only 1 doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people.

Culture

The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. The settlers wore top hat and tails and modeled their homes on those of Southern slaveowners. Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics.

Liberia has a long, rich history in textile arts and quilting, as the settlers brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks, who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria in 1892. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.

A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are among Liberia's more prominent authors. Moore's novella ''Murder in the Cassava Patch'' is considered Liberia's most celebrated novel.

Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. Other ingredients include cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruit, plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes. Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with fufu. Liberia also has a tradition of baking imported from the United States that is unique in West Africa.

Measurement system

Liberia is one of only three countries, along with the United States and Burma, that does not exclusively use the International System of Units. The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of imperial units to the metric system. However, this change has been gradual, with government reports concurrently using both imperial and metric units. A 2008 report from the University of Tennessee stated that the changeover from English to Metric measures was confusing to coffee and cocoa farmers.

See also

Outline of Liberia

Index of Liberia-related articles

Foreign relations of Liberia

References

;Bibliography

;Further reading

''Great Tales of Liberia'' by Wilton Sankawulo. Dr. Sankawulo is the compiler of these tales from Liberia and about Liberian culture. Published by Editura Universitatii "Lucian Blaga";; din Sibiu, Romania, 2004. - ISBN 973-651-838-8

''Sundown at Dawn: A Liberian Odyssey'' by Wilton Sankawulo. Recommended by the Cultural Resource Center, Center for Applied Linguistics for its content concerning Liberian culture. ISBN 0-9763565-0-3

''To Liberia: Destiny's Timing'', by Victoria Lang (Publish America, Baltimore, 2004, ISBN 1-4137-1829-9). A fast-paced gripping novel of the journey of a young Black couple fleeing America to settle in the African motherland of Liberia.

Godfrey Mwakikagile, ''Military Coups in West Africa Since The Sixties'', Chapter Eight: Liberia: 'The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here,' pp. 85 – 110, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Huntington, New York, 2001; Godfrey Mwakikagile, ''The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation'', Chapter One: The Collapse of A Modern African State: Death and Rebirth of Liberia, pp. 1 – 18, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2001.

Redemption Road: The Quest for Peace and Justice in Liberia (A Novel) by Elma Shaw, with a Foreword by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (Cotton Tree Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9800774-0-7)

''House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' by Helene Cooper (Simon & Schuster, 2008, ISBN 0-7432-6624-2)

External links

;Government

Executive Mansion Official site of the President of the Republic of Liberia

Legislature Official site of the Legislature of Liberia

Judiciary Official site of the Supreme Court of Liberia

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

;General information

Liberia from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

Liberia Districts Comprehensive resource about Liberia counties and districts

ECOWAS member Liberia is one of 15 members in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

;Maps

"Liberia Maps", Perry-Castañeda Library, The University of Texas at Austin - contains a digitized collection of CIA political maps, topographic maps, maps of Monrovia and thematic maps

Maps of Liberia 1830-1870 Library of Congress Geography and Map Division - contains a digitized collection of American Colonization Society (ACS) Liberian maps

"Map of the West Coast of Africa from Sierra Leone to Cape Palmas, Including the Colony of Liberia" 1830, American Colonization Society, courtesy of the World Digital Library, UNESCO

"Map of a Journey to Musardu, the Capital of the Western Mandingoes / by Benj'n Anderson, 1868-69", courtesy of the World Digital Library, UNESCO

;News media

Liberian Observer newspaper

Liberia news headlines from ''allAfrica.com''

Liberia world Liberia news & information

Liberia MyTurn Storytelling Site

;Travel

;Other

Liberian Law - Cornell Law Library - contains digitized documents dealing with the creation of the nation of Liberia and the laws enacted at its foundation, as well as extensive links for further research

Liberia Online Community

Liberian reconstruction from Reuters AlertNet

Liberia Past and Present: Past and Present of Africa's Oldest Republic

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Category:African countries Category:Countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean Category:Economic Community of West African States Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Least developed countries Category:Member states of the African Union Category:Reparations for slavery Category:Republics Category:States and territories established in 1847 Category:Member states of the United Nations

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Joshua Milton Blahyi (born September 30, 1971), better known by his nom de guerre General Butt Naked, was a fiercely violent and eccentric leader for the Liberian warlord Roosevelt Johnson in the First Liberian Civil War in the first half of the 1990s. He was originally a tribal priest, and returned to preaching after the war.

Early religious beliefs

Blahyi is a member of the Sarpo tribe in Liberia. At age 11, he claims, he was initiated as a tribal priest and participated in his first human sacrifice. During the course of the three day ritual that followed, Blahyi says that he had a vision in which he was told by the Devil that he would become a great warrior and that he should continue to practice human sacrifice and cannibalism to increase his power. The Krahn elders later appointed him as high priest, a position that would later lead him to become the spiritual advisor to Liberian President Samuel Doe. Blahyi adhered to a complex traditional belief system as a Krahn Priest, and like many in Africa he has mixed those beliefs fluidly with Christianity. Blahyi himself explains: "I was a high priest for the biggest god under the Krahn tribe, and the late Samuel K. Doe being a fellow tribesman, was automatically placed under my jurisdiction... I also placed nyanbe-a-weh amongst the first three high ranking deities in the West Africa’s black-witch coastal line division." Nyanbe-a-weh was Blahyi’s protecting deity who (according to Blahyi) demanded ritual sacrifice; Blahyi would come to believe that Nyanbe-a-weh was the devil. He explains that the Krahn tribe selects leaders based upon physical prowess rather than birthright. The selection process takes place through an annual fight: "The traditional fight was a no holds barred affair. The eventual victor was allowed to kill and maim to show his strength and bravery. The strongest or last man standing after the bloody contest will take over the birthright and the headship of the tribe."

In battle

Blahyi has said he led his troops naked except for shoes and a gun. He believed that his nakedness was a source of protection from bullets. Blahyi now claims he would regularly sacrifice a victim before battle, saying, "Usually it was a small child, someone whose fresh blood would satisfy the devil." He explained to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Sometimes I would enter under the water where children were playing. I would dive under the water, grab one, carry him under and break his neck. Sometimes I'd cause accidents. Sometimes I'd just slaughter them." In January 2008, Milton-Blahyi confessed to taking part in human sacrifices which "included the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat."

Blahyi got his nickname, "General Butt Naked", from his nakedness which was supposedly demanded by the Devil. He claimed to a South African ''Star'' reporter that he "met Satan regularly and talked to him" and that from the age of 11 to 25 he took part in monthly human sacrifices. In his account of a typical battle Blahyi claimed, "So, before leading my troops into battle, we would get drunk and drugged up, sacrifice a local teenager, drink their blood, then strip down to our shoes and go into battle wearing colourful wigs and carrying dainty purses we'd looted from civilians. We'd slaughter anyone we saw, chop their heads off and use them as soccer balls. We were nude, fearless, drunk and homicidal. We killed hundreds of people – so many I lost count." Blahyi also purported that during that period he had "magical powers that made him invisible" and a "special power" to capture a town singlehandedly, then call in his troops afterwards to "clean up". Some of Blahyi's soldiers – often teenage boys – would enter battle naked; others would wear women's clothes. In June 2006 Blahyi published his autobiography including pictures of him fighting with a rifle, wearing nothing but sneakers.

During the First Liberian Civil war he led a mercenary unit, many of whom were child soldiers, that was known as the Butt Naked Brigade. They were funded by Roosevelt Johnson and fought alongside the ULIMO militia against militias led by Charles Taylor and Prince Yormie Johnson. ULIMO was loyal to Samuel Doe, who was killed by Prince Johnson. Charles Taylor eventually took control of the country.

Conversion

Blahyi's rampage ended in 1996, when the civil war in Liberia was coming to an end. He credits his conversion to a theophany in which Jesus Christ appeared to him as a blinding light and told him that he would die unless he repented of his sins. In 1997 Blahyi traveled to the Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana. It was at the camp, he recounts, that he made confession for his sins at a Church and "had his life saved."the church is called no lives save church" " When he goes out to preach now, he says he sometimes encounters relatives of his victims. "I feel very bad, so bad", he said, but he insists it was satanic powers that possessed him in the past and he cannot be held responsible. In 2004 Liberian-American director Gerald Barclay traveled to Buduburam to shoot a documentary which included interviews with Joshua Blahyi. In January 2008 Blahyi returned to Liberia from Ghana and claimed before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia that between c. 1980 and 1996 he and his men were responsible for the deaths of more than 20,000 people. Although the TRC accepted that figure, Norris Tweah, the Information Minister of Liberia has since disputed that Blahyi was responsible for that many deaths. Blahyi was the subject of a 2010 documentary film: "True Stories: The Redemption of General Butt Naked" by the Sundance Institute, produced and directed by Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion.

In popular culture

Blahyi's nom de guerre was appropriated for comical effect by the creators of the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'' as their fictional Ugandan warlord "General Butt Fucking Naked".

References

Bibliography

External links

The Redemption of General Butt Naked, a forthcoming documentary on Blahyi's life and conversion.

Category:Liberian clergy Category:Warlords Category:Liberian rebels Category:Living people Category:Public nudity Category:Liberian evangelicals Category:1971 births Category:Cannibals

de:Joshua Milton Blahyi eo:Joshua Blahyi ja:ジョシュア・ブライ

Name	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Office	President of Liberia
Vicepresident	Joseph Boakai
Term start	16 January 2006
Predecessor	Gyude Bryant
Birth date	October 29, 1938
Birth place	Monrovia, Liberia
Party	Unity Party
Alma mater	University of Colorado, BoulderUniversity of Wisconsin, MadisonJohn F. Kennedy School of Government
Profession	EconomistBusinesspersonActivist
Religion	Methodism }}

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born 29 October 1938) is the 24th and current President of Liberia. She served as Minister of Finance under President William Tolbert from 1979 until the 1980 coup d'état, after which she left Liberia and held senior positions at various financial institutions. She placed a very distant second in the 1997 presidential election. Later, she was elected President in the 2005 presidential election and took office on 16 January 2006. Sirleaf is the first and currently only elected female head of state in Africa.

Family background

While not Americo-Liberian by ancestry, Sirleaf is considered culturally Americo-Liberian by some observers or assumed to be Americo-Liberian. However, Sirleaf does not identify as such. Her ethnic background is 1/2 Gola from her father's side, and 1/4 German (grandfather) and 1/4 Kru (grandmother) from her mother's side.

Sirleaf’s father Jahmale Carney Johnson, was born into a region filled with rural poverty. He was the son of a minor Gola chief named Jahmale and one of his wives, Jenneh, in Julijuah, Bomi County. Her father was sent to Monrovia, where his last name was changed to Johnson because of his father's loyalty to President Hilary R. W. Johnson, Liberia's first Liberian-born president. He grew up in Monrovia where he was raised by an Americo-Liberian family with the surname McGritty. Sirleaf's father later became the first Liberian from an indigenous ethnic group to sit in the country's national legislature.

Sirleaf's mother was also born into poverty in Greenville, Liberia. Her grandmother Juah Sarwee sent Sirleaf's mother to Monrovia when Sirleaf's German grandfather had to flee the country after Liberia declared war on Germany during World War I. A member of a prominent Americo-Liberian family, Cecilia Dunbar, adopted and raised Sirleaf's mother.

Early life and career

Sirleaf was born in Monrovia, and studied economics and accounts from 1948 to 1955 at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. She married James Sirleaf when she was 17 years old, and then traveled with him to the United States in 1961 to continue her studies and earned an accounting degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a degree in economics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Sirleaf later studied economics and public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government from 1969 to 1971, gaining a Master of Public Administration. She then returned to her native Liberia to work under the government of William Tolbert.

Sirleaf served as Assistant Minister of Finance from 1972 to 1973 under Tolbert's administration. She resigned after getting into a disagreement about spending. Subsequently she was Minister of Finance from 1979 to April 1980. Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, a member of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group, seized power in an April 12, 1980 military coup; Tolbert was assassinated and all but four members of his cabinet were executed by firing squad. The People's Redemption Council took control of the country and led a purge against the former government. Sirleaf initially accepted a post in the new government as President of the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment, though she fled the country in November 1980 after publicly criticizing Doe and the People's Redemption Council for their management of the country.

Sirleaf initially moved to Washington D.C. to work for the World Bank before moving to Nairobi in 1981 to serve as Vice President of the African Regional Office of Citibank. She resigned from Citibank in 1985 following her involvement in the 1985 election in Liberia and went to work for Equator Bank, a subsidiary of HSBC. In 1992, Sirleaf was appointed as the Assistant Administrator, then Director, of the United Nations Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Africa, from which she resigned in 1997 to run for president in Liberia. During her time at the UN, she was one of the seven internationally eminent persons designated in 1999 by the Organization of African Unity to investigate the Rwandan genocide, one of the five Commission Chairs for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and one of two international experts selected by UNIFEM to investigate and report on the effect of conflict on women and women’s roles in peace building. She was the initial Chairperson of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and a visiting Professor of Governance at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

Political career

1985 general election

While working at Citibank, Sirleaf returned to Liberia in 1985 to run for Vice President on the ticket of the Liberian Action Party in the 1985 elections. However, Sirleaf was placed under house arrest in August of that year and soon after sentenced to ten years in prison for sedition as a consequence of a speech in which she insulted the members of the Doe regime. Following international calls for her release, Doe pardoned and released her in September. Due to government pressure, she was removed from the presidential ticket and instead ran for a Senate seat in Montserrado County.

Though the elections, which saw Doe and the National Democratic Party win the presidency and large majorities in both houses, were widely condemned as neither free nor fair, Sirleaf was declared the winner of her Senate race. Sirleaf refused to accept the seat in protest of the election fraud. After an attempted coup against the Doe government by Thomas Quiwonkpa on November 12,Sirleaf was arrested and imprisoned again on November 13 by Doe's forces. Despite continuing to refuse to accept her seat in the Senate, she was released in July 1986 and secretly fled the country to the United States later that year.

1997 presidential campaign

At the outbreak of the First Liberian Civil War in 1989, Sirleaf initially supported Charles Taylor rebellion against Doe, helping to raise funds for his cause. However, she later went on to oppose him. By 1996, the presence of ECOWAS peacekeepers allowed for the cessation of hostilities, resulting in the 1997 general election, which Sirleaf returned to her native Liberia to contest. As the presidential candidate for the Unity Party, she placed second in a controversial election, losing with 10% of the vote to Charles Taylor's 75%. Sirleaf left the country soon after and again went into exile in Abidjan.

2005 presidential campaign

After the end of the Second Liberian Civil War and the establishment of a transitional government, Sirleaf was proposed as a possible candidate for chairman of the government. Ultimately, Gyude Bryant, a political neutral, was chosen as chairman, while Sirleaf served as head of the Governance Reform Commission.

Sirleaf once again stood for president as the candidate of the Unity Party in the 2005 general election. She placed second in the first round of voting behind footballer George Weah. In the subsequent run-off election, Sirleaf earned 59% of the vote to 40% for Weah, though Weah disputed the results. The announcement of the new leader was postponed until further investigations were carried out. On 23 November 2005, Sirleaf was declared the winner of the Liberian election and confirmed as the country's next president. Her inauguration, attended by many foreign dignitaries, including United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and First Lady Laura Bush, took place on 16 January 2006.

2011 presidential campaign

In January 2010, Sirleaf announced that she would run for a second term in office in the 2011 presidential election while speaking to a joint session of the Legislature. Opposition leaders noted that in doing so, she had broken a promise made during her 2005 campaign to only serve one term if elected. Sirleaf was renominated as the Unity Party's presidential candidate at the party's national convention on 31 October 2010. That same day, Vice President Joseph Boakai was nominated by Sirleaf and confirmed by the delegates as Sirleaf's running mate.

Presidency

Domestic policy

A fire broke out at the Executive Mansion on July 26, 2006, seriously damaging the structure. An independent panel formed to investigate the incident ruled out arson, attributing the fire to an electrical malfunction. Sirleaf's government called funding for the repair of the mansion a low priority in the face of more pressing needs, with Sirleaf transferring her office to the nearby Foreign Ministry building and choosing to live at her personal home in Monrovia.

On 26 July 2007, Sirleaf celebrated Liberia's 160th Independence Day under the theme "Liberia at 160: Reclaiming the future." She took an unprecedented and symbolic move by asking 25-year old Liberian activist Kimmie Weeks to serve as National Orator for the celebrations, where Weeks called for the government to prioritize education and health care. A few days later, President Sirleaf issued an Executive Order making education free and compulsory for all elementary school aged children.

In October 2010, Sirleaf signed into law a Freedom of Information bill, the first legislation of its kind in West Africa. In recognition of this, she became the first sitting head of state to receive the Friend of the Media in Africa Award from The African Editor's Union.

On April 1, 2011, Sirleaf told reporters that she planned to charge an opposition candidate with sedition for organizing a rally protesting corruption in the government. Her press secretary later clarified that the remark had been an April Fools' prank.

Debt relief

From the beginning of her presidency, Sirleaf vowed to make reduction of the national debt, which stood at approximately $4.9 billion in 2006, a top priority for her administration. The United States became the first country to grant debt relief to Liberia, waiving the full $391 million owed to it by Liberia in early 2007. In September of that year, the G-8 headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel provided $324.5 million to paying off 60% of Liberia's debt to the International Monetary Fund, crediting their decision with the macroeconomic policies pursued by the Sirleaf administration.

In April 2009, the government successfully wrote off an additional $1.2 billion in foreign commercial debt in a deal that saw the government buy back the debt at a 97% discounted rate through financing provided by the International Development Association, Germany, Norway, the United States and the United Kingdom. The discounted rate was the largest ever for a developing country.

The country was deemed eligible to participate in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative in 2008. In June 2010, the country reached the completion point of the HIPC initiative, qualifying it for relief from its entire external debt. That same month, the World Bank and IMF agreed to fund $1.5 billion in writing off the Liberia's multilateral debt. On 16 September, the Paris Club agreed to cancel $1.26 billion, with independent bilateral creditors canceling an additional $107 million, essentially writing off Liberia's remaining external debt. Sirleaf vowed to prevent unsustainable borrowing in the future by restricting annual borrowing to 3% of GDP and limiting expenditure of all borrowed funds to one-off infrastructure projects.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

In 2006, Sirleaf established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a mandate to "promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation" by investigating more than 20 years of civil conflict in the country.

In their final report, issued in June 2009, the TRC included Sirleaf in a list of 50 names of people that should be "specifically barred from holding public offices; elected or appointed for a period of thirty (30) years" for "being associated with former warring factions." The proposed ban stemmed from her financial support of former President Taylor in the initial months of the First Liberian Civil War.

On 26 July 2009, Sirleaf apologized to Liberia for supporting Charles Taylor, adding that "when the true nature of Mr. Taylor’s intentions became known, there was no more impassioned critic or strong opponent to him in a democratic process" than she. On 28 August, the Legislature announced they must "consult our constituents for about a year" before deciding whether or not to implement the Commission's recommendations.

During an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in 2010, Sirleaf argued that the implementation of the TRC's recommended ban would unconstitutionally violate her right to due process. In October 2010, the chairman of Sirleaf's Unity Party, Varney Sherman, argued that implementation of the recommendation would be unconstitutional, as Article 21(a) of the Constitution prohibits ''ex post facto'' laws, and Sirleaf had broken no law by financially supporting Taylor that imposed a ban from public office as a penalty.

In January 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in ''Williams v. Tah'', a case brought by another person recommended for being banned from public office in the TRC report, that the TRC's recommendation was an unconstitutional violation of the listed individuals' right to procedural due process, and that it would be unconstitutional for the government to implement the proposed bans.

Foreign policy

Upon her election to office, Sirleaf made her first foreign trip as President to neighboring Côte d'Ivoire, meeting with Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo in an attempt to repair relations between the two countries following Côte d'Ivoire's support of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia during the Second Liberian Civil War. During the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis, Sirleaf, as chairperson of the Mano River Union, supported ECOWAS's recognition of Gbago's opponent, Alassane Ouattara, as the winner of the disputed presidential election, but rejected calls for a military solution to the crisis.

Sirleaf has forged close relations with the United States, Liberia's traditional ally. Following the establishment of AFRICOM by the United States military, Sirleaf offered to allow the US to headquarter the new command in Liberia, the only African leader to do so. The command was eventually headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. On 15 March 2006, President Sirleaf addressed a joint meeting of the United States Congress, asking for American support to help her country “become a brilliant beacon, an example to Africa and the world of what love of liberty can achieve.”

Sirleaf has also strengthened relations with the People's Republic of China, reaffirming Liberia's commitment to the One-China policy. In return, China has contributed to Liberia's reconstruction, building several transmitters to extend the Liberia Broadcasting System nationwide and constructing a new campus for the University of Liberia.

Sirleaf is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

During the 2011 Libyan civil war, Sirleaf added her voice to a chorus of calls from the international community for Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi to cease the use of violence and tactics of political repression. However, she criticized the international military intervention in Libya, declaring that "violence does not help the process whichever way it comes". Her government later severed diplomatic ties with Libya, stating that "The Government took the decision after a careful review of the situation in Libya and determined that the Government of Colonel Gaddafi has lost the legitimacy to govern Libya."

Administration and Cabinet

Name	Sirleaf
President	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
President start	2006
President end	present
Vice president	Joseph Boakai
Vice president start	2006
Vice president end	present
Foreign	George Wallace
Foreign start	2006
Foreign end	2007
Foreign 2	Olubanke King Akerele
Foreign start 2	2007
Foreign end 2	2010
Foreign 3	Toga McIntosh
Foreign start 3	2010
Foreign end 3	present
Finance	Antoinette Sayeh
Finance start	2006
Finance end	2008
Finance 2	Augustine Ngafuan
Finance start 2	2008
Finance end 2	present
Justice	Frances Johnson-Morris
Justice start	2006
Justice end	2007
Justice 2	Philip A. Z. Banks
Justice start 2	2007
Justice end 2	2009
Justice 3	Christiana Tah
Justice start 3	2009
Justice end 3	present
Defense	Brownie Samukai
Defense start	2006
Defense end	present
Internal	Ambullai Johnson
Internal start	2006
Internal end	2010
Internal 2	Harrison Kahnweah
Internal start 2	2010
Internal end 2	present
Education	Joseph Korto
Education start	2006
Education end	2010
Education 2	E. Othello Gongar
Education start 2	2010
Education end 2	present
Posts	Jackson E. Doe
Posts start	2006
Posts end	2008
Posts 2	Jeremiah Sulunteh
Posts start 2	2008
Posts end 2	2010
Posts 3	Frederick B. Norkeh
Posts start 3	2010
Posts end 3	present
Public works	Willie Knuckles
Public works date	2006
Public works 2	Luseni Donzo
Public works start 2	2007
Public works end 2	2009
Public works 3	Samuel Kofi Woods
Public works start 3	2009
Public works end 3	present
Agriculture	Christopher Toe
Agriculture start	2006
Agriculture end	2009
Agriculture 2	Florence Chenoweth
Agriculture start 2	2009
Agriculture end 2	present
Health	Walter Gwenigale
Health start	2006
Health end	present
Information	Edward B. McClain, Jr.
Information date	2006
Information 2	Lawrence Bropleh
Information start 2	2006
Information end 2	2009
Information 3	Cletus Sieh
Information start 3	2010
Information end 3	present
Planning	Toga McIntosh
Planning start	2006
Planning end	2008
Planning 2	Amara M. Konneh
Planning start 2	2008
Planning end 2	present
Lands	Eugene Shannon
Lands start	2006
Lands end	2010
Lands 2	Roosevelt Jayjay
Lands start 2	2010
Lands end 2	present
Rural	Ernest C. B. Jones
Rural start	2006
Rural end	2008
Commerce	Olubanke King Akerele
Commerce start	2006
Commerce end	2007
Commerce 2	Frances Johnson-Morris
Commerce start 2	2007
Commerce end 2	2008
Commerce 3	Miatta Beysolow
Commerce start 3	2008
Commerce end 3	present
Gender	Garbah Gayflor
Gender start	2006
Gender end	present
Labor	Samuel Kofi Woods
Labor start	2006
Labor end	2009
Labor 2	Tiawon Gongloe
Labor start 2	2009
Labor end 2	2010
Labor 3	Jeremiah Sulunteh
Labor start 3	2010
Labor end 3	present
Youth	Jamesetta Howard Wolokollie
Youth start	2006
Youth end	2007
Youth 2	Etmonia Tarpeh
Youth start 2	2007
Youth end 2	present
Transport	Jeremiah Sulunteh
Transport start	2006
Transport end	2008
Transport 2	Jackson E. Doe
Transport start 2	2008
Transport end 2	2009
Transport 3	Alphonso Gaye
Transport start 3	2009
Transport end 3	2010
Transport 4	Willard Russell
Transport start 4	2010
Transport end 4	present
National security	Peter Bonner Jallah
National security start	2008
National security end	2009
National security 2	Victor Helb
National security start 2	2009
National security end 2	present
State	Morris Dukuly
State date	2006
State 2	Willie Knuckles
State start 2	2006
State end 2	2007
State 3	Edward B. McClain, Jr.
State start 3	2007
State end 3	present }}

Following her election in 2005, Sirleaf pledged to promote national reconciliation by bringing in opposition leaders into her administration. Opposition politicians who joined her initial administration included Minister of Transport Jeremiah Sulunteh, Minister of Education Joseph Korto, and Ambassador to the United Nations Nathaniel Barnes. Sirleaf also appointed several women to high-level posts in her administration, with female ministers initially leading the Ministries of Finance, Law, Commerce and Industry, Gender and Development, and Youth and Sports. Sirleaf said that while she had planned on appointing an all-female cabinet, she had been unable to find qualified female candidates for every position.

Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf promised that she would impose a "zero tolerance" policy on corruption within the government. Despite this, critics have argued that corruption remains rampant within Sirleaf's administration; Information Minister Lawrence Bropleh was sacked in 2008 over allegations that he had stolen more than $200,000 in state funds, while Internal Affairs Minister Ambullai Johnson, Sirleaf's brother, was dismissed in 2010 after the disappearance of funds for county development. Sirleaf herself has acknowledged that corruption in governments remains, noting that her zero tolerance policy was hampered by the need to pass major economic reforms through the Legislature, a goal that would have been impeded by significant anti-corruption legislation and prosecutions. However, Sirleaf has rejected claims that she has failed to fight corruption, pointing to the establishment of the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission and the restructuring of the General Auditing Commission.

Sirleaf dismissed her entire cabinet from office on 3 November 2010, promising to reassemble the cabinet in a short of time as possible. She argued that the move was taken to give her administration a "clean slate" in preparation for the final year of her term, though critics argued that the move was aimed to bolster her chances at reelection by confronting corruption in her administration. By early December 2010, Sirleaf had reconstituted her entire cabinet, replacing seven of her nineteen ministers.

Judicial appointments

Upon the inauguration of Sirleaf, the entire Supreme Court bench, which had been selected as part of the transitional government in 2003, stepped down, leaving Sirleaf to fill all five seats on the Court. Sirleaf nominated Johnnie Lewis, a Yale Law School graduate and former Circuit Court judge, for the office of Chief Justice. Lewis and three of Sirleaf's Associate Justice nominees, J. Emmanuel Wureh, Francis Korkpor and Gladys Johnson, were confirmed by the Senate on 2 March 2006. Sirleaf's nomination of Kabineh Ja'neh, a former leader in the rebel LURD movement, as Associate Justice received criticism from the opposition Congress for Democratic Change due to concerns over Ja'neh's human rights record during the civil war, and Ja'neh was not confirmed until 9 May.

Following the death of Justice Wureh in July 2006, Sirleaf nominated Christiana Tah, a deputy minister at the Justice Ministry, to fill his seat. However, the Senate later rejected Tah's nomination, leading Sirleaf to nominate her Minister of Youth and Sports, Jamesetta Howard Wolokollie, who was confirmed. Justice Johnson retired from the Court on 26 March 2011 after reaching the constitutionally mandated retirement age of seventy. Sirleaf nominated Phillip A. Z. Banks, her former Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, to replace Johnson in August 2011. Banks was confirmed by the Senate on 20 August 2011.

International image

''Forbes'' magazine named Sirleaf as the 51st most powerful woman in the world in 2006. In 2010, ''Newsweek'' listed her as one of the ten best leaders in the world, while ''Time'' counted her among the top ten female leaders. That same year, ''The Economist'' called her "arguably the best president the country has ever had."

Personal life

In 1956, Sirleaf married James Sirleaf, whom she later divorced. Sirleaf is the mother of four sons and has eight grandchildren. Her great nephew, Emmanuel Sumana Elsar Sr., was her political advisor during the 2005 presidential elections against George Weah.

Awards

Recipient of the 1988 Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute Freedom of Speech Award

Ralph Bunche International Leadership Award

Grand commander Star of Africa Redemption of Liberia

Commandeur de l'Ordre du Togo (Commander of the Order of Togo)

2006 Common Ground Award recipient, Search for Common Ground 2006 Laureate of the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger, The Hunger Project 2006 Distinguished Fellow, Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning, Emory University 2006 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws from Marquette University 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award given by the United States, awarded to Sirleaf by U.S. President George W. Bush on 5 November 2007 2008 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Indiana University 2008 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Brown University 2009 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Minnesota 2010 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Yale University 2010 Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 2010 Friend of the Media in Africa Award from The African Editor's Union 2011 African Gender Award

References

;Bibliography

Anderson, Jon Lee. "Letter from Liberia: After the Warlords", ''The New Yorker'', March 27, 2006. Retrieved on December 14, 2010.

;Further reading

External links

Liberia Executive Mansion ''official government website''

*Biography

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia includes final report

;Speeches

Address to US Congress in Joint Session 15 March 2006 TXT PDF

Sirleaf Speaks at U.S. Institute of Peace 21 March 2006 (audio archive available)

Liberian President Speaks to Georgetown Community 17 October 2006

;Profiles and interviews

Profile: Liberia's 'Iron Lady' on BBC News Online, 23 November 2005

Iron Ladies of Liberia, Independent Lens on PBS, 2007

Follow the Leader, interview with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by the International Museum of Women, April 2008

The 'Remarkable Life' Of Liberia's 'Iron Lady', Dave Davies, interview on Fresh Air, April 2009

Top 100 Women in Politics: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Ermine Saner, ''The Guardian'', 8 March 2011

Category:1938 births Category:Current national leaders Category:Female heads of government Category:Female heads of state Category:John F. Kennedy School of Government alumni Category:Liberian Methodists Category:Liberian presidential candidates Category:Liberian women in politics Category:People of German descent Category:Living people Category:People from Monrovia Category:Presidents of Liberia Category:Unity Party (Liberia) politicians Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Category:University of Colorado alumni

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Ellen Johnson is an activist for atheist rights and the separation of church and state in the United States. She was president of American Atheists from 1995–2008.

Career

Johnson has been active in American Atheists organization since 1978. She describes herself as a life-long "second-generation atheist". Her educational background consists of Bachelor's Degrees in Environmental Studies and Political Science, and a Master's Degree in Political Science from The New School for Social Research.

Johnson took over as president in 1995 after founder Madalyn Murray O'Hair went missing along with her son and granddaughter (they were later found to have been abducted and murdered by two ex-convicts, one of whom, David Waters, worked for her organization).

In November 2002, Johnson announced the formation of the Godless Americans Political Action Committee (GAMPAC), a PAC to endorse political candidates who support the separation of church and state. She is the executive director of that organization.

Starting in 1994, she was the co-host of ''The Atheist Viewpoint'', a television program, which is available "on dozens of cable systems throughout the nation and on the Internet."

On December 20, 2005 she appeared on an ABC special, "Heaven – Where Is It? How Do We Get There?", for which she was interviewed by Barbara Walters. She appeared on ''Larry King Live'' in April 2005, ''Good Morning America'' in December 2005, MSNBC's ''Scarborough Country'' on December 14, 2004, and appeared on Fox News three times in November and December 2003, and MSNBC's Phil Donahue.

On May 2, 2008 it was announced on the American Atheists blog that Johnson was leaving her post as President. On May 7, 2008, it was made public that Ellen Johnson was removed involuntarily by a vote of the board of directors. The reason was not revealed.

References

External links

Enlighten the Vote

Category:Atheism activists Category:American atheists Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:The New School alumni

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