I heard about the first female president on the African continent but knew nothing about her story, her struggle, what made her such an iconic figure. This book answered pretty answered everything and when i finished it my sense of respect for this woman and all the women of Liberia is further increased.
I'm from the Congo myself and the kind of hellish environment portrayed in this book is sadly still part of the daily life of women in the eastern part of my country. It breaks my heart everyday knowing about it. Men have been failing for decades and are STILL failing those poor women, maybe it's time a woman takes the rain of that country too ( )

This thoroughly researched biography of a versatile, talented and intelligent leader is a page turner. At times I was on the edge of my chair waiting to see how Ellen Johnson Sirleaf would solve the next big crisis.
Helene Cooper explains complex political, social and financial issues clearly without getting long winded. I had just one problem with the book: it is very clear that the author is a great admirer of her subject. Despite the fact that she does quote some of Sirleaf's opponents commentaries it still feels like you are missing the real objective point of view.
I enjoyed reading this book immensely. I learned a great deal about Liberia and I would love to meet Ellen Johson Sirleaf! ( )

Madame President tells the story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of Liberia, or of any African country for that matter. She served two terms from 2006 to 2017. This followed almost 30 years of military rule (Samuel Doe, 1980-89) and civil war (initiated by Charles Taylor and eventually leading to his rigged election as President in 1997 against Sirleaf). Sirleaf inherited a country suffering from total economic collapse, the destruction of key infrastructure and 30 years of frankly unspeakable horrors for the civil population. In 2005, the Liberian women rose up against this male-dominated period in electing Sirleaf. Relying on her World Bank and international finance background and contacts, Sirleaf succeeded in obtaining relief from a debt burden that had become unsustainable and started to get the economy and infrastructure back on track. The West African Ebola outbreak in 2014 was a huge challenge for the country but she beat it back by drawing on international support (including President Obama who sent Marines and built hospitals) and organizing the Liberian people to take measures to stop the spread of the disease.

Liberia was founded in 1820 when it was colonized by freed blacks from the United States. At the time there were 28 tribes in Liberia who fought the new colonists but lost. The American blacks created an image of the antebellum society in the United States except the American blacks were the rulers and the Liberians were the ruled. In 1847, Liberia became independent of the United States and the descendents of the American blacks continue to rule until the 1980 military coup against William Tolbert. William Tubman was president from 1943 until his death in 1971. Vice President Tolbert became President and ruled until his execution in the coup of 1980.

Sirleaf was born in 1938 of mixed blood (her grandfather was German) but no descendance from American blacks. She suffered from an abusive marriage and ultimately divorced. Sirleaf began her career in the Liberian Treasury and developed international contacts. She obtained education in the United States (including an MA in Public Administration at Harvard in 1971), and as a frequent critic of Liberian governments she had various jobs at the World Bank , Citibank and Equator Bank outside of Liberia at times when she would have been in danger living in Liberia. As it was, she was arrested by the Doe Government and only escaped rape and murder by good luck, including that she could trace her ethnic background to one of the Liberian tribes. ( )

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first woman President of Liberia (and first woman President of any African country) and took the reins of the country at its rock bottom. When she was elected in 2006 her country had been through over a decade of bloody civil war. The country, both its people and its infrastructure was decimated. Sirleaf's background made her an excellent choice to lead this country. Sirleaf had a father with roots in one of the local tribes and a mother who was "Congo-born", i.e. the designation for former American slaves who moved to Liberia after being freed and founded Liberia. She had excellent schooling in economics and had worked for Citibank and the World Bank. Most importantly to her election, she rallied the women of the country who were sick and tired of war and violent men. Something like 70% of Liberian women had been raped when Sirleaf took office - they had survived decades of violent civil war and women were virtually the only economy Liberia had as they bought and sold necessary goods at roadside stalls. Sirleaf worked tirelessly to get Liberia's considerable debt forgiven so the country could begin to rebuild. As they were on the road to recovery, ebola hit Liberia killing many, many people. Liberia was able to contain the disease with considerable help from outside countries.

This book opened my eyes to both Liberia's history and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's life. I'm sorry to say I knew virtually nothing about this country or this remarkable leader before reading this book. This is highly recommended. ( )

32. Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by Helene Cooper
reader: Marlene Cooper Vasilic
published: 2017
format: 12:45 overdrive audiobook (~356 pages, 336 pages in hardcover)
acquired: library loan
listened: May 24 – Jun 7
rating: 4½

posted on Litsy:

This book is why I’m somewhat random in how I select audiobooks. It never occurred to me that Liberian history was so fascinating and awful, or that the transformation this woman represents could be so special on so many levels. So much to say. Extraordinarily and grotesque violence, 70% of women raped in a civil war before Sarleaf began rebuilding. And then Ebola. Special book, special person, terrific writing, great reader.

Liberia has an odd history where freed mixed-race American slaves formed the country in 1847, essentially taking it over and becoming a ruling elite, known for some reason as Congo people. Liberia actually was financially sound, except that all the wealth from mining and whatnot went to the ruling elite, creating a massive class divide that broke down first into a coup and military dictatorship in 1980, and then into in all-out civil war of unending violence that began in 1989 and continued till about 2003 when President Charles Taylor was charged with war crimes for actions in Sierre Leon (but not in Liberia) and fled. The details and extent of the violence in Liberia are unfathomably gruesome, with torture, massacres, causal violence and, of course, rapes committed by all sides.

Out of the now completely broken country came Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a grandmother elected to president through a massive women's movement. Sirleaf is a financial expert with ties to key members in the world bank, private banks and financial and political leaders in the US. She was far from a nobody. In course of her presidency, the country's debt was cancelled, the economy reactivated, the violence plummeted, corruption reduced (but hardly stopped), the country began to rebuild, and Sirleaf, the first woman to be elected to leadership in Africa, won the Nobel Peace Prize (along with two other women). Then came Ebola - into the capital city, Monrovia, the first time an epidemic of the disease hit a urban area. Serious predictions saw 4 million deaths coming in a matter a months.

The author, [[Helene Cooper]], was born in Liberia, and later became a member of the press corps following American presidents. When Ebola hit, she when back to Liberia to cover the outbreak and interview Sirleaf and to write this book.

I'm not sure how to put it, but this is a really terrific book in so many ways, uplifting and human. The introduction about the author's own life already had my attention. And the life of Sirleaf, hardly a perfect person, is really inspirational. It's the story of what can happen when a really qualified person is actually given responsibility, but it's also the story of the catastrophe it took to get there. I'll add that it was interesting to see the presidency of George W. Bush, a president I hate, in a positive light. And it see was nice to see Obama playing such a key role in being proactive with the Ebola crisis, sending in resources and American marines to assist, and essentially saving the city. And all of this in a country I hardly ever thought about before starting this book.

2018
https://www.librarything.com/topic/288371#6502656 ( )