Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Liberian politician and economist who served as president from 2006 to 2018, the first woman elected head of state of an African country. Educated at Harvard, she held senior posts at the World Bank and the United Nations before returning to Liberian politics, and was jailed and exiled more than once for opposing successive Liberian governments. As president she worked to rebuild the country after its long civil war, established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her work advancing women's rights and peace.