-As former President Obasanjo and influential women from around the world join her
Former Liberian President Mrs. Ellen Johson Sirleaf is expected to celebrate her 86th birthday in remarkable style today as she climaxes the ongoing African Women Leadership Network conference here.
The 24th Liberian President is expected to be joined by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and dozens of influential women from the 36 African Women Leadership Network chapters. Former first lady Clar Marie Weah is also expected to join Mrs. Sirleaf during the celebration.
Sources close to Mrs. Sirleaf said this year's African Women Leadership Network retreat had been planned to coincide with Mrs. Sirleaf's birthday celebration today.
The retreat, which runs from October 27 to 29, 2025, focuses on co-leadership and co-mentoring. It creates a platform for AWLN Pioneer Elders to share their experiences and expertise with emerging women leaders. The summit highlights the vital role women play in transforming the continent.
AWDN is a collaborative initiative of the African Union Commission and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women), supported by the Federal Government of Germany. This year's summit theme is "Empowering the Next Generation of Women Leaders in a Beijing+30 Era: Paving the Way for a Sustainable and Equitable Society."
Mrs. Sirleaf, born Ellen Eugenia Johnson on 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.
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She was born in Monrovia and educated at the College of West Africa. She completed her education in the United States, studying at Madison Business College, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Harvard University.
She returned to Liberia to work as Deputy Minister of Finance in William Tolbert's government 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 and served until 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, a disputed election. In 1985, she was arrested for openly criticizing the military government and sentenced to ten years imprisonment, although she was later released.
Mrs. Sirleaf continued to be involved in politics. She finished second in the 1997 presidential election, which Charles Taylor won.
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 to be elected president of her country. In 2011, she won the Nobel Peace Prize 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.
