Politics of Liberia

President:
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson

Born
October 29, 1938 (1938-10-29) (age 68) in Monrovia, Liberia

Johnson-Sirleaf went to College of West Africa High School in Monrovia. She received a Bsc in Accounting at Madison Business College in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. in 1964, an economics diploma from the University of Colorado in 1970, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University in 1971. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated[1], a social action organization and the first collegiate sorority founded by and for Black women (1908).

Returning to Liberia after Harvard, Johnson-Sirleaf became Assistant Minister of Finance in President William Tolbert's administration. In 1980, Tolbert was overthrown and killed by army sergeant Samuel Doe, ending decades of relative stability. Doe represented the Krahn ethnic group and was the first Liberian president not to be descended from the elite ex-American slave community. During Doe's tenure the Krahn played a dominant role in public life.

After the overthrow of Tolbert, Johnson-Sirleaf went into exile in Nairobi, Kenya, where she worked for Citibank. She returned to run for Senate in 1985, but when she spoke out against Doe's military regime, she was sentenced to ten years in prison. Released after a short period, she moved to Washington, D.C.. She returned to Liberia again in 1997 in the capacity of an economist, working for the World Bank, and Citibank in Africa.

Initially supporting Charles Taylor's bloody rebellion against President Samuel Doe in 1990, she later went on to oppose him, and ran against him in the 1997 presidential elections. She managed only 10% of the votes, as opposed to Taylor's 75%. Taylor charged her with treason. She campaigned for the removal of President Taylor from office, playing an active and supportive role in the transitional government, as the country prepared itself for the 2005 elections. With Taylor's departure, she returned to take over the leadership of the Unity Party.


Vice President:
Joseph Boakai

Joseph Nyumah Boakai (born November 30, 1944) is the Vice-President of Liberia. He is Vice-President to fellow Unity Party member Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Boakai is a graduate of the College of West Africa,[1] the University of Liberia, and Kansas State University. From 1983 to 1985, he served as the Liberian Minister of Agriculture.

Boakai is a religious Christian, and is a Deacon of the Effort Baptist Church. Boakai is married to Kartumu Cooper. They have three sons.



George Weah

George Weah was born on September 1, 1966 and raised in Clara Town in Monrovia. He is a member of the Kru ethnic group, which hails from south-eastern Liberia's Grand Kru County, one of the poorest areas of the country. His parents were William T. Weah, Sr. and Anna Quayeweah. He was raised largely by his paternal grandmother, Emma Klonjlaleh Brown. He attended middle school at Muslim Congress and high school at Wells Hairston High School. Before his football career took off, Weah worked for the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation as a switchboard technician.

George played football in Europe for 14 years. In 1995, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year, European Footballer of the Year, and African Footballer of the Year. Weah was also named African Footballer of the Year in 1989 and 1994.

At club level, Weah started his career in his native Liberia, where he represented four clubs (Young Survivors, Bongrange Company, Mighty Barolle Monrovia and Invincible Eleven) before moving to Tonnerre Yaoundé in Cameroon, where he won the 1988 Cameroonian championship. He moved to Europe later that year and was signed by Arsène Wenger to play for Monaco, who Weah credits as an important influence on his career. Wenger is currently manager of Arsenal. In Monaco Weah was a member of the team that won the French Cup in 1991. In the 1990s Weah played for Paris Saint Germain (1992 - 95), with whom he won the French league in 1994; and AC Milan (1995 - 1999), with whom he won the Italian league in 1996 and 1999. George left Milan in August 1999 and played Chelsea, Manchester City and Olympique Marseille, leaving Marseille in May 2001 to play for Al Jazira FC in the United Arab Emirates.

Weah has received a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management from Parkwood University in London. This school was later decried as a diploma mill and closed by the US Federal Trade Commission, in collaboration with the British government. In 1999, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Humanity from the A.M.E. Zion University College in Liberia.

He is an ex-Muslim, and has stated, "I'm a Christian now, but I practiced Islam for ten years before converting to Christianity. One thing I want the world to know is that the world should be peaceful. It's not good for Muslims and Christians to fight against each other - we are one people. There's no need for people to kill each other. I pray for peace for everybody - for Muslim and Christian. For black, white, green, yellow and brown."[3]

George is married to Clar Weah, an American of Jamaican descent, and is the father of four children: George Jr., Martha, Timothy George, and Jessica, who was adopted from Jamaica. George Weah Jr. has trained with the US U-20 team, with his close friend Freddy Adu and played for A.C. Milan Primavera in the 2005-06 season.

George Weah ran second to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in the 2005 Liberia Presidential elections. He is a resident of New York City and a French national.