Delaware, U.S.A. – President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, will soon mark her country’s first peaceful, democratic handover of a head of state to a successor since 1944.
Join the U.S. Institute of Peace, the International Republican Institute, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the National Democratic Institute, and the National Endowment for Democracy on September 25 on Capitol Hill for a public address by President Sirleaf. Senator Chris Coons will be the honorary host of the event.
Due to the offsite location of this event, we will be unable to live stream President Sirleaf’s remarks.
Liberia is scheduled to hold elections on October 10, paving the way for President Sirleaf to step down in January, after serving two six-year terms in office. She will visit Washington this month as she travels to New York for the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly.
President Sirleaf will reflect on U.S. support for Liberia under her administration, in aiding struggles such as the country’s transition from civil war and the 2014 Ebola epidemic, which she addressed in a previous USIP co-sponsored event in 2015.
She also will call on the U.S. to continue its support for democracy, human rights and good governance in Africa and around the world.