Key figures: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, George Weah, Charles Gyude Bryant (transitional leader), Leymah Gbowee
Summary
On November 23, 2005, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was declared the winner of the Liberian presidential election, becoming the first woman ever elected head of state on the African continent. Her victory came in a runoff held on November 8, 2005, in which she defeated former professional footballer George Weah with 59.40 percent of the vote (478,526 ballots) to Weah’s 40.60 percent (327,046 ballots). She was inaugurated as the 24th President of Liberia on January 16, 2006.
The elections were conducted under the framework of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003, which had ended Liberia’s Second Civil War (1999–2003). A transitional government headed by Charles Gyude Bryant had administered the country in the interim. The two-round contest drew significant international attention: the first round on October 11, 2005, saw Weah lead with 28.27 percent and Sirleaf place second with 19.75 percent, among 22 candidates. No candidate secured the required majority, triggering the runoff. Voter turnout was 74.86 percent in the first round and 61.04 percent in the runoff.
International observers from the United Nations, European Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Carter Center monitored both rounds. The Carter Center reported only minor irregularities and found no evidence of the systematic fraud alleged by the Weah campaign. Weah formally withdrew his protest and conceded on December 22, 2005.
Background: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Eugenia Johnson Sirleaf was born on October 29, 1938, in Monrovia, Liberia. She studied at the College of West Africa and at Madison Business College in Wisconsin before earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1971.
She entered Liberian government service, eventually rising to Finance Minister under President William Tolbert (1979–1980). After the April 1980 military coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, she fled the country and worked at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and as Vice President of Citibank’s African Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya (1981–1985). She returned to Liberia to contest a Senate seat in 1985, was arrested for criticising the Doe government, and was later released. In 1992, she joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where she served as Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa and as an Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations — the first woman to lead the UNDP’s Africa program. She resigned in 1997 to contest the presidency but lost to Charles Taylor, receiving approximately 10 percent of the vote against Taylor’s 75 percent.
The 2005 Campaign
Sirleaf ran as the candidate of the Unity Party on a platform of national reconciliation, economic reconstruction, and anti-corruption reform. She leveraged her international finance experience — at Harvard, Citibank, the World Bank, and the UNDP — to present herself as uniquely qualified to rebuild Liberia’s shattered institutions and attract foreign investment. Her opponent George Weah, a former FIFA World Player of the Year and African footballer of the year, was enormously popular but lacked formal education in governance, an issue Sirleaf and international commentators raised during the campaign.
In the first round, Weah’s strong popular support placed him first. However, Sirleaf built a winning coalition in the runoff, drawing support from urban educated voters, women’s groups energised by the peace activism of figures such as Leymah Gbowee, and voters who prioritised economic competency over celebrity appeal. Turnout remained high given the country’s recent history of conflict and the logistical challenges of post-war infrastructure.
Significance
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s election broke a historic barrier: no woman had previously been elected to lead an African nation. Her victory was widely interpreted as evidence that post-conflict democratic reconstruction could produce both free elections and transformative representation. As president from 2006 to 2018, she secured debt relief and foreign investment that helped stabilise Liberia’s economy, established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and worked to reintegrate former combatants.
In 2011, Sirleaf was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside compatriot Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman. The Nobel Committee cited their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Her election in November 2005 thus stands as both a milestone for African democratic governance and for women’s political representation globally, coming the same year that Angela Merkel became Germany’s first female Chancellor and Condoleezza Rice became the first African American woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State.