Character Catalog

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf rebuilt Liberian institutions after fourteen years of civil war: restoring the rule of law, fighting corruption, reviving the economy, and attracting foreign investors.

She secured the cancellation of more than 4 billion dollars in debt under the HIPC initiative, freeing up considerable resources for the country's reconstruction.

She continued democratic consolidation and managed the 2014–2016 Ebola crisis, strengthening the Liberian health system with the support of the international community.

A memoir published in English, tracing her journey as a female politician in Africa, her imprisonments, her exiles, and her rise to power; translated into several languages.

Following the Ebola epidemic, she co-chaired this international commission to strengthen fragile health systems and prevent future pandemics in low-income countries.

The first peaceful transfer of power between two elected presidents in Liberia since 1944, hailed as a major democratic milestone for West Africa.

I have always believed that Africa's salvation lies in the hands of its women. We are the ones who bear the burden of conflict, who rebuild after war, who hold families and communities together when everything else falls apart.

We know what we want. We want peace. We want freedom. We want prosperity. And we are determined to work hard to achieve these goals, because Liberia is worth fighting for.

This prize belongs to all the women of Liberia — the market women, the church women, the women who risked their lives to stop the war. I share this honour with each and every one of them.

Liberia is at a crossroads. With your continued support, we will transform our nation into a beacon of democracy and development for all of Africa.

Capital of Liberia and the site of her inauguration in January 2006; it is here that she governed for twelve years, rebuilding the institutions of a state devastated by two civil wars.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf earned a master's degree in public administration here in 1971; this training gave her the intellectual tools to manage public finances and negotiate with international institutions.

The city where she received the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 2011, recognizing her fight for democracy, peace, and women's rights on the international stage.

Site of the peace negotiations that ended the Liberian civil wars in the 1990s and 2000s; Sirleaf played a role there as a mediator and voice of Liberian civil society.

The Ghanaian capital where the Accra Peace Agreement was signed in 2003, ending the second civil war and paving the way for the 2005 elections won by Sirleaf.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf often wears outfits in the red, white, and blue colors of the Liberian flag during official ceremonies, asserting her national identity while projecting an image of feminine authority in a political world dominated by men.

A symbol of her training as an economist at Harvard and her years at the IMF and the World Bank, the briefcase accompanies her debt negotiation missions and her travels to world capitals to advocate for Liberia's cause.

Key documents that Sirleaf studies and uses to renegotiate Liberia's $4.9 billion external debt, ultimately securing the cancellation of a large portion through the HIPC initiative (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries).

Awarded on December 10, 2011, in Oslo, this medal honors her commitment to peace, democracy, and women's rights; she makes it a symbol of the struggle of all Liberian women.

During civil wars and crises such as Ebola, this indispensable communication tool allows her to coordinate international aid and maintain contact with global organizations from a country with devastated infrastructure.

The foundational text that Sirleaf commits to upholding and strengthening from her inauguration onward, particularly by fighting corruption and ensuring the separation of powers in a state weakened by decades of dictatorship.