Sirleaf wins Africa leadership award
• Former president ‘worked tirelessly on behalf of the people of Liberia’
Former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Monday won the rarely awarded Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership — the world’s biggest individual prize. The award comes with $5m, which is paid over 10 years, and $200,000 annually for life from then on.
Former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Monday won the rarely awarded Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership — the world’s biggest individual prize.
The prize only goes to a democratically elected African leader who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, served their mandated term and left office within the past three years. The award comes with $5m, which is paid over 10 years, and $200,000 annually for life from then on.
Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state, left office on January 22 after a maximum 12 years as president, served in two terms.
The 79-year-old won the 2017 Ibrahim Prize, only the second time it has been awarded in six years.
In 2011, she shared the Nobel Peace Prize as a champion for women’s rights.
Former AU secretarygeneral Salim Ahmed Salim, chairman of the prize committee, said Sirleaf had changed Liberia’s fortunes.
“Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took the helm of Liberia when it was completely destroyed by civil war and led a process of reconciliation that focused on building a nation and its democratic institutions,” he said.
“Throughout her two terms in office, she worked tirelessly on behalf of the people of Liberia. Such a journey cannot be without some shortcomings and, today, Liberia continues to face many challenges.
“Nevertheless, during her 12 years in office, Sirleaf laid the foundations on which Liberia can now build.”
The prize, founded by Sudanborn telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim, has only been given five times in its 11-year existence.
The philanthropist has said in the past that making no award sent just as strong a message on African leadership.
Ibrahim said that he was delighted by the decision.
“In very difficult circumstances, she helped guide her nation towards a peaceful and democratic future, paving the way for her successor to follow,” he said.
“I am proud to see the first woman Ibrahim laureate and I hope that Sirleaf will continue to inspire women in Africa and beyond,” Ibrahim said.
The prize’s four previous laureates are Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007), Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008), Pedro Pires of Cape Verde (2011) and Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (2014).
Former South African president Nelson Mandela was made an honorary laureate in 2007.
The London-based Mo Ibrahim Foundation produces an annual index of African governance, allowing citizens to measure how well their countries are being run.
Since 2006, Liberia has been the only country out of 54 to improve in every category on the index. Liberia has moved up 10 places in the overall African ranking to 28th since then.
Former football star George Weah, the 1995 Fifa World Player of the Year, won 2017’s Liberian presidential elections and took over from Johnson.
Other major awards are the Fundamental Physics Prize, worth $3m; the Templeton Foundation for spiritual contributions, worth £1.1m; and the Nobel Prize, which in 2017 was set at $1.11m for each award.