Madam President: From Liberia’s Leader to Nobel Laureate

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – Africa’s “Iron Lady” – overcame abuse, imprisonment and exile to become the first elected female head of state in Africa. President of Liberia from 2006 until January of this year, President Sirleaf turned her country around after 25 years of violence and misrule by securing peace in Liberia, promoting economic and social development, and strengthening the position of women – all of which earned her the Nobel Peace prize in 2011.

During a breakfast discussion, President Sirleaf will share her insights from her long career in the public and private sectors and her views on advancing gender equality and developing the economies and democratic institutions of Africa.