 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the presidency at age 67 and is leading an economic recovery.
As Africa's first elected female head of state, she has taken on corruption, gotten some of Liberia's debt canceled and rebuilt the army
Johnson Sirleaf is the second elected black female head of state in the world, the second female leader of Liberia after Ruth Perry (who assumed leadership after an overthrow), and the fifth black female head of government,
Johnson-Sirleaf studied economics from 1948 to 1955 at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. She was married to James Sirleaf when she was only 17 years old and then traveled to America in 1961 to continue her studies at the University of Madison where she eventually earned a degree. Johnson-Sirleaf then read 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 home country of Liberia. Mrs. Sirleaf is the mother of four boys and has eight grandchildren.
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