H.E. Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia
Co-Chair
Ms. Sirleaf is the first elected female head of state in Africa and has been in office since 16 January 2006. She won a second term in 2011. President Sirleaf was jointly awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize with Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakel Karman of Yemen (also on the High Level Panel). She also Chairs the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), and is serving a second two-year term as Goodwill Ambassador for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Africa.
President Sirleaf has been ranked among the top 100 most powerful women in the world (Forbes 2012); the first most powerful woman in Africa (Forbes Africa 2011); among the 10 best leaders in the world (Newsweek 2010); among top 10 female leaders (TIME 2010); called “the best President the country has ever had (The Economist 2010); and as one of the six “Women of the Year” (Glamour 2010).