Sirleaf wins Nobel Peace Prize
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state and a Harvard Kennedy School alumna, has won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. She shares the award with Leymah Gbowee, an African peace activist whose work helped to end the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003, and Tawakul Karman, a journalist and human rights activist who has been a major player in the effort to topple Yemen’s authoritarian regime. The Nobel Committee awarded the prize to the three women on Friday for “their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women, and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Sirleaf was elected in 2005 after years of fighting and civil unrest in Liberia. She has worked to stabilize and restore the country through an emphasis on economic reforms, a strong stance against corruption, and a commitment to infrastructure and establishing strong international ties. Sirleaf studied economics and public policy at...