Sirleaf to be sworn in as Africa's first female president

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf takes office today as Liberia’s new head of state, carving her name into history as Africa’s first elected female president and taking the helm of a ruined nation struggling for peace after a quarter century of coups and war.

Sirleaf pledged to unite her country and secure the trust of sceptical foreign donors whose aid is desperately needed to rebuild. She also hoped her ascension to power would be an inspiration to women worldwide.

“I am excited by the potential of what I represent – the aspirations and expectations of women in Liberia, African women and wome all over the world,” the 67-year-old grandmother told a West African women’s forum. “I am also humbled, humbled by the enormity of the challenge we face.”

The United Nations stepped up security before the inauguration, redeploying about 500 peacekeepers previously stationed outside the capital to strategic points in Monrovia and the international airport. Liberian police, though unarmed, have also increased their presence on the streets.

Two US Navy warships appeared offshore on Saturday for the first time since the war ended in 2003, a rare show of support also meant to protect two hih-profile expected guests: Laura Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Sirleaf will be sworn in for a six-year term, taking charge of Africa’s oldest republic, founded by freed American slaves in 1847.

Rich in diamonds, iron ore and timber, Liberia as relatively prosperous and peaceful until a 1980 coup saw illiterate Master Sgt. Samuel Doe seize power and order Cabinet ministers tied to poles in their underwear and executed.

Harvard-educated Sirleaf was finance minister at the time, but was spared, she said in a recent interview, “by the grace of God.”

Twice imprisoned in the 1980s by Doe’s junta, Sirleaf fled into exile.

When Charles Taylor launched a rebel invasion from neighbouring Ivory Coast in 1989, Sirleaf briefly supported him – a move that still draws criticism today. The war saw children as young as 10 take up arms. Fighting uprooted half the country’s 3 million people and killed 200,000.

A truce paved the way for presidential elections in 1997 that Sirleaf lost to Taylor. The brazen bid earned her the nickname Iron Lady.

After another rebel war forced Taylor from power in 2003, Sirleaf ran for president again, this time winning a heated November run-off buoyed by a resume that included senior jobs at Citibank, the United Nations and the World Bank.

Her soccer star rival, George Weah, was backed by ex-rebel leaders and many ex-combatants.

Sirleaf inherits a nation in tatters. The capital has no running water or electricity, and unemployment is an astounding 80%.

Liberia needs a massive influx of aid “quickly ... without a lot of strings attached,” said Alan Doss, head of the UN mission in Liberia.

“We have to give the new government, initially, the benefit of the doubt,” Doss said. “Help them get moving quickly so people see a difference. If a few years from now they sense that nothing has changed ... there could be trouble again.”

Sirleaf says her top priorities include stamping out corruption, getting electricity in the capital and assuring a future for 100,000 ex-combatants who laid down arms last year, many of whom are prowling the streets, unemployed.