In glorious counterpoint to the US’s dismal record of non-equal opportunities for women in the commercial and political spheres, Liberia’s Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected the President of her country, thus becoming the first woman elected head of state in modern African history.
To make this even more miraculous, her opponent is a male soccer star, and her margin of victory was a stupendous 18% (59/41%).
A Harvard graduate and former UN and World Bank official, Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf is nobody’s cosseted, well-dressed, well-coifed darling, like the Gina Davis character on “Commander in Chief”.
She’s a plain, 66 year-old woman who was jailed for over a year under Samuel Doe, Liberia’s former dictator, and lived with death threats by former President and indicted war criminal, Charles Taylor.
Even more impressive than her personal courage is her record of tough-as-nails leadership in the man’s world of international banking, including the IMF and Citicorp.
As one of her admirers said to the New York Times, “She is fearless. No men intimidate her.”