Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the 24th President of Liberia. She was the world’s first elected Black female president and the first woman ever elected head of state on the continent of Africa. In 2011, Sirleaf was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakel Karman of Yemen. The women were recognized “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Sirleaf was conferred the Indira Gandhi Prize by President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 12 September 2013.
Here are Ten Inspirational Quotes by President Sirleaf:
“The future belongs to us, because we have taken charge of it…”
“Women work harder. And women are more honest; they have less reasons to be corrupt.”
“I’ve been a victor of circumstance.”
“If your dreams don’t scare you, you aren’t dreaming big enough.”
“I work hard, I work late, I have nothing on my conscience. When I go to bed, I sleep.”
“We are here because we share a fundamental belief: that poverty, illiteracy, disease, and inequality do not belong in the twenty-first century. We share a common purpose: to eradicate these ills for the benefit of all…”
“To girls and women everywhere, I issue a simple invitation. My sisters, my daughters, my friends; find your voice.”
“Leadership is never given on a silver platter, one has to earn it.”
“Ethnicity should enrich us; it should make us a unique people in our diversity and not be used to divide us.”
Future generations will judge us not by what we say, but what we do.