Africa’s first woman president sworn in

ELLEN Johnson Sirleaf was yesterday sworn in as war-battered Liberia’s new president, carving her name into history as Africa’s first elected female head of state.

Wearing a cream-coloured outfit and traditional African headdress, Sirleaf repeated the oath of office read to her by Liberian Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry Reed Cooper during an inauguration ceremony attended by thousands of civilians and scores of foreign diplomats, dignitaries and African leaders.

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan congratulated Sirleaf, saying she had a “historic mandate to lead the nation toward a future of lasting peace and stability.”