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Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Becomes Liberia's President, First Elected Female Leader in Africa
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has been sworn in as Liberia's new president, making her Africa's first elected female leader. In an hour-long speech after the ceremony, she vowed to tackle a national debt of $3.5 billion, fight rampant corruption and improve gender equality. We speak with Emira Woods of the Institute for Policy Studies. She is originally from Liberia.
We turn to Africa where Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has been sworn in as Liberia's new president, making her Africa's first elected female leader.
The open-air inauguration was attended by U.S. first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Liberia is Africa's oldest republic, founded in 1847 by freed slaves from America. Two US Navy warships were stationed off Liberia's coast during the inauguration. At least nine African presidents including Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo and South Africa's Thabo Mbeki were among those in attendance. Seated in the front row was George Weah, the soccer star who lost to Johnson-Sirleaf and refused to concede the election until last month.
Johnson-Sirleaf is a 67 year-old Harvard-trained economist who has held positions at Citibank, the United Nations and the World Bank. She is a veteran politician who was jailed twice and is nicknamed the Iron Lady.
In an hour-long speech after the ceremony, she vowed to tackle a national debt of $3.5 billion dollars and to fight rampant corruption. She added she would stand by a foreign donor-backed program that will oversee state spending. She also vowed to improve gender equality in Liberia.
* Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf:
"The administration must endeavour to give Liberian women prominence in all affairs of our country. We will empower all Liberian women in all aspects of our national life. We will support and increase the weight of law... and deal drastically with crimes that dehumanize. We will enforce without fear of failure the laws against rape easily passed by the national assembly. We will encourage all families to educate all children especially the girls."
Johnson-Sirleaf becomes Liberia's first elected head of state since the end of a 14-year civil war in 2003. The conflict uprooted half the country's 3 million people and left up to 250,000 dead. Liberia is still reeling from the war. Its road network is in ruins, there is no national telephone network, no national electricity grid and no piped water.
* Emira Woods, Co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. She is originally from Liberia.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/17/1449215
The open-air inauguration was attended by U.S. first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Liberia is Africa's oldest republic, founded in 1847 by freed slaves from America. Two US Navy warships were stationed off Liberia's coast during the inauguration. At least nine African presidents including Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo and South Africa's Thabo Mbeki were among those in attendance. Seated in the front row was George Weah, the soccer star who lost to Johnson-Sirleaf and refused to concede the election until last month.
Johnson-Sirleaf is a 67 year-old Harvard-trained economist who has held positions at Citibank, the United Nations and the World Bank. She is a veteran politician who was jailed twice and is nicknamed the Iron Lady.
In an hour-long speech after the ceremony, she vowed to tackle a national debt of $3.5 billion dollars and to fight rampant corruption. She added she would stand by a foreign donor-backed program that will oversee state spending. She also vowed to improve gender equality in Liberia.
* Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf:
"The administration must endeavour to give Liberian women prominence in all affairs of our country. We will empower all Liberian women in all aspects of our national life. We will support and increase the weight of law... and deal drastically with crimes that dehumanize. We will enforce without fear of failure the laws against rape easily passed by the national assembly. We will encourage all families to educate all children especially the girls."
Johnson-Sirleaf becomes Liberia's first elected head of state since the end of a 14-year civil war in 2003. The conflict uprooted half the country's 3 million people and left up to 250,000 dead. Liberia is still reeling from the war. Its road network is in ruins, there is no national telephone network, no national electricity grid and no piped water.
* Emira Woods, Co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. She is originally from Liberia.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/17/1449215
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