- Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state, says her biggest regret after leading her country out of two brutal civil wars is not doing enough to heal the wounds of its young people.
In an interview with the BBC World Service, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate reflected on her presidency and the challenges of rebuilding a nation devastated by conflict. While Liberia made strides in health and education under her leadership, Sirleaf said thousands of war-scarred youths were left without adequate psychological and social support.
"We never addressed the pains of conflict and the attitudes that emerged from two decades of war," Sirleaf said. "We did not address the mental anguish of young people and provide them with the kinds of support that they perhaps required."
Her admission came as she offered advice to nations now struggling to rebuild after war, drawing lessons from Liberia's experience for countries like Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza. Sirleaf stressed that beyond financial aid, successful recovery requires integrity, vision and leadership rooted in public service.
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"It first takes personal commitment. It takes a vision," she said. "With values, you are likely to attract the resources required to rebuild. But that requires personal integrity, personal influence with others whom you lead, so you're not alone."
Sirleaf, often called the "Iron Lady of Africa" for her fiscal discipline and resilience, was elected in 2005, two years after Liberia's civil war ended. She mobilized international backing for debt relief, putting women in key ministries and winning crucial support when then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced the cancellation of Liberia's debt.
Still, Sirleaf said rebuilding Liberia demanded more than diplomacy and finance. "The country's infrastructure was destroyed, institutions were nonfunctional, and an entire generation had gone without education," she said.
She also looked ahead to Africa's economic future, urging leaders to reduce dependence on foreign aid and focus on harnessing natural resources for inclusive growth. "We must be able to see to it that the benefits from our resources are used largely for inclusive growth, for being able to give us the self-reliance, self-dependence that we have not been sufficiently strong in addressing over the years," she said.
Despite challenges, she expressed optimism that Africa could chart a new course by 2030, though she warned the path would be difficult.
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To young women aspiring to leadership, Sirleaf offered advice that echoed her own rise from outspoken schoolgirl to global stateswoman: "Establish a record. Stand up. Identify your goal. Have the confidence that you can achieve it... There will be challenges. There will even be failures. Failure is just the other side of success."
Now 86, Sirleaf continues her work through the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development, which she says is her way of giving back to the women whose mobilization made her presidency possible. "I owe it to the women," she said.
