Prize Points to Liberia's Post-Conflict Gains - Johnson Sirleaf

Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says her selection as recipient of the Ibrahim Prize for African leadership underlines the consolidation of democracy.The Mo Ibrahim Foundation Prize Committee praised Johnson Sirealf's "exceptional and transformative leadership, in the face of unprecedented and renewed challenges, to lead Liberia's recovery following many years of devastating civil war".

This is only the fifth time the prize has been awarded in its 10-year history. Sirleaf joins Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (2014), Pedro Pires of Cabo Verde (2011), Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008) and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007) as an Ibrahim Prize Laureate. Nelson Mandela was made the inaugural Honorary Laureate in 2007. Noting that she is the first women awardee, she said:  "Where there is a first, there comes a second, and a third, and a fourth."

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf speaking in Washington, DC

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