German award for Johnson Sirleaf

Liberian President and Nobel peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was awarded the 2014 Global Economy Prize by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and its partner organizations on Sunday (22.06.2014). Other winners of the award were Indian biotech entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and US economist Richard Thaler.

Dennis Snower, head of the Kiel Institute, which is part of the University of Kiel, said the three "had helped us to understand how sustainability can evolve from globalization."

Johnson Sirleaf, 75, received a university education in the United States in the 1960s and 70s. She studied at the Harvard Kennedy School among other institutions. She previously worked for the World Bank and the United Nations, where she acquired a reputation as an "iron lady" - a tough technocrat who insisted on financial discipline.

Towards reconciliation

Her career reached its zenith in 2006 when she became the president of Liberia, making her the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa. She was able to unite a country which had been destroyed by years of civil war in which an estimated 250,000 people died. The population was traumatized, countless women had been raped. Liberia's infrastructure was in ruins; there was neither water nor electricity.

Johnson Sirleaf succeeded in restoring hope to the population and giving them faith in their country's future. The fact that she was a woman encouraged other women in Liberia to take part in the country's political life. As Betty Arsen, a sales assistant in Monrovia, explained "We went out to vote for Johnson Sirleaf in the hope that she would help other women."

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf promised zero tolerance towards corruption. It was a pledge she has not always been able to fulfill. In July 2013, Frances Allen Johnson, chair of the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission, accused her of being too lenient on bribery.

Johnson Sirleaf was, however, able to secure $4 billion (2.9 billion euros) in debt relief for Liberia. She persuaded investors to return to her small country with its abundance of natural resources. An export ban on diamonds and high quality timber was lifted. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work as a campaigner for women's rights in 2011.

Yasmin Jusu-Sherriff, lawyer and human rights activist from neighboring Sierra Leone, recalls how she - together with women from Guinea and Liberia - had supported Johnson Sirleaf when she was running for the presidency. "We saw Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's election as crucial for the peace process in our region," Jusu-Sherriff said.

The shadow of Charles Taylor

Nonetheless Johnson Sirleaf remains a controversial figure. A report by Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission accuses her of having supported the convicted war criminal Charles Taylor in the 1980s. Two civil wars between 1989 and 2003 - power struggles involving ethnic groups and warlords - left behind a trail of destruction and much suffering.

The central figure in the conflict was rebel leader Charles Taylor who was determined to overthrow Liberian President Samuel Doe. Johnson Sirleaf was imprisoned under Doe's regime and therefore initially welcomed Taylor's intervention. This was a big mistake as she later admitted. Taylor's rebels did not only torture Doe to death, they also terrorized large parts of the country. Johnson Sirleaf distanced herself from Taylor, who was convicted on war crimes in 2012.

On account of her association with Taylor, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was given the task of uncovering the facts about the years of relentless killing in Liberia, recommended that Johnson Sirleaf should not run for a second term in office. She did stand again in 2011 and was re-elected.

Johnson Sirleaf has also been criticized for helping members of her family to acquire well-paid jobs. Her son was given a lucrative position with the national oil company. She has been unable to resolve the country's major problems, which include corruption, unemployment and poverty.