Published December 5, 2011 By Amangeldi Djumanaliev Country Profile CCPPR11LR Report available in PDF and Flash formats

Liberia’s incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the first and only female head of state in Africa since November 2005. With a solid background in the realm of international development and governance, she has pledged to curb corruption and advance both public sector and economic reforms. In 2011, she was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In November 2011, she won re-election after the candidate for the CDC boycotted the second round of the poll claiming irregularities although all the monitoring groups declared the election free, fair and transparent. The government has since emphasized the importance of reconciliation by involving her political rivals in the government and by launching an independent inquiry into election-related violence. In 2006, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to address the causes and crimes of the civil war. Among her latest initiatives are an Executive Order making education free and compulsory for all elementary school aged children, signing a Freedom of Information Bill into law, and attempts to suppress corruption. President Sirleaf has also vowed to reduce the national debt and decrease dependence on foreign aid. Thus far the new government has shown itself to be capable of improving the nation’s condition; however, it remains to be seen if a political transition can be made smoothly.

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