Welcome to our collection of quotes by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. We hope you enjoy pondering them and please share widely.
Wikipedia Summary for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Sirleaf was born in Monrovia to a Gola father and Kru-German mother. She was educated at the College of West Africa. She completed her education in the United States, where she studied at Madison Business College and Harvard University. She returned to Liberia to work in William Tolbert's government as Deputy Minister of Finance from 1971 to 1974. Later, she worked again in the West, for the World Bank in the Caribbean and Latin America. In 1979, she received a cabinet appointment as Minister of Finance, serving to 1980.
After Samuel Doe seized power in 1980 in a coup d'état and executed Tolbert, Sirleaf fled to the United States. She worked for Citibank and then the Equator Bank. She returned to Liberia to contest a senatorial seat for Montserrado County in 1985, an election that was disputed. She was arrested as a result of her open criticism of the military government in 1985 and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, although she was later released. Sirleaf continued to be involved in politics. She finished in second place at the 1997 presidential election, which was won by Charles Taylor.
She won the 2005 presidential election and took office on 16 January 2006. She was re-elected in 2011. She was the first woman in Africa elected as president of her country. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, in recognition of her efforts to bring women into the peacekeeping process. She has received numerous other awards for her leadership. In June 2016, Sirleaf was elected as the Chair of the Economic Community of West African States, making her the first woman to hold the position since it was created.
I underestimated the low level of capacity. I also underestimated the cultural roots of corruption.
I don't think people understand the awesomeness of the destruction of this country -- its institutions, its infrastructure, its law, its morals.
I'm not talking about what you hear from 5 per cent of the population on the radio, in the papers. I don't pay attention to it. I travel around the country. I'm happy I have a good relationship with the people.
We have to overcome the practice of male domination -- even though it's changing, and changing in Liberia quite drastically.
We've done a lot to restore Liberia's credibility, Liberia's reputation, Liberia's presence.
My mother was the strength. She was the anchor. She was a preacher and a teacher.
Ethnicity should enrich us; it should make us a unique people in our diversity and not be used to divide us.
I think we're ready for succession. We just must try to do it right.
I stand by it. I take the criticism for it. I think it's unfair, but yes, there is a thing about nepotism, and we all try to respect it.
My mother was a disciplinarian. She believed that when young girls start to go out with young boys, they get married.
We all have a stake in the battle against Ebola.
Future generations will judge us
not by what we say, but what we do.
The people of Liberia know what it means to be deprived of clean water. But we also know what it means to see our children begin to smile again, with a restoration of hope and faith in the future.
In Liberia, our main obstacle is infrastructure: the lights, the water, the roads. Companies can't operate without those things. And even though we have commitments from our partners, it takes time to turn commitments into cash.
If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.
Leadership is never given on a silver platter, one has to earn it.
Ebola is not just a health crisis. Across West Africa, a generation of young people risks being lost to an economic catastrophe.
In Liberia, our salary scales are so low that our judicial system has become corrupt over the years. Now, we need to do some things ourselves.
To girls and women everywhere, I issue a simple invitation.
My sisters, my daughters, my friends; find your voice.
In Liberia, the big challenge that remains for us is job creation. We want young people to work or go to school. That is our main preoccupation right now.
I've been involved in politics for quite some time. I've held positions, and my experiences are very deep, and I think I have the capacity, the courage, and the character to institute the kinds of reforms that are so desperately needed.
There is no easy fix or youth unemployment. Partnership between the public and private sectors can make a big difference.
I think the majority of the Liberian people want peace.
I beg you I no magician. I can't just wave a magic wand.
I just think that unless you have that cohesiveness in the family unit, the male character tends to become very dominant, repressive and insensitive. So much of this comes also from a lack of education.
The people of Liberia know what it means to be deprived of clean water, but we also know what it means to see our children to begin to smile again with a restoration of hope and faith in the future.
One has to look at my life story to see what I've done. I've paid a heavy price that many people don't realize.
As more men become more educated and women get educated, the value system has to be more enhanced and the respect for human dignity and human life is made better.
All girls know that they can be anything now. That transformation is to me one of the most satisfying things.
Liberia just needs to go through this one political transition and it can really take off. Everything's in place now. We cannot afford to put the country in the hands of someone that lacks the experience.
Women work harder. And women are more honest; they have less reasons to be corrupt.
I work hard, I work late, I have nothing on my conscience. When I go to bed, I sleep.
The future belongs to us, because we have taken charge of it. We have the commitment, we have the resourcefulness, and we have the strength of our people to share the dream across Africa of clean water for all.