Notable Women of Liberia

Do you have a "Liberian notable woman "Role Models" ?
why not honor one of them by including her on this page? She does NOT have to be famous.

Florence Chenoweth Chenoweth is the executive director of the liaison office of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world's leading agency in the fight against hunger. She was one of six 2005 award recipients chosen for having demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of families around the globe, according to the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Chenoweth was born in Liberia in 1945. At the age of 22, she became the first woman to enroll in the College of Agriculture at the University of Liberia in Monrovia. She then came to UW-Madison and earned a master's degree in agricultural economics in 1970. After returning to Liberia, Chenoweth worked in government agricultural institutions and made history once again by becoming the African country's first female minister of agriculture in 1977. She took action to increase the production of rice, Liberia's staple crop, through the introduction of higher-yield varieties and acreage expansion programs. But a coup d'etat in 1980, which took the life of the president and other government officials, forced Chenoweth to flee with little more than her children. They arrived in Sierra Leone on foot. Chenoweth returned to Madison to pursue a Ph.D. in land resources, which she completed in 1986. For the next six years, she worked on a UW-Madison agricultural policy project in Zambia, followed by a stint as an advisor to the president of Zambia, who was seeking ways to liberalize agricultural markets. In 1995, Chenoweth joined the FAO as its representative in Gambia in West Africa. She spearheaded efforts to revitalize assistance programs there and conducted a review of the country's agricultural and natural resources that has since helped guide Gambia's development. She then opened the FAO's first office in South Africa following the end of apartheid. In 2000, she coordinated relief efforts after floods that disrupted the lives of 2.5 million people. The following year, Chenoweth was named FAO liaison with the United Nations in New York, serving as the link between the relief agency and the U.N. General Assembly. Chenoweth considers it her mission to help relieve the suffering caused by hunger. Source: University of Wisconsin

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Master in Public Administration from Harvard University. From Liberian cabinet minister to senior UN administrator then runner-up presidential candidate, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's career has never stood still. Having served as Finance Minister in William Tolbert's True Whig government in the 1970s, Johnson-Sirleaf announced her intention to stand as senatorial candidate in the 1985 elections during the military rule of Samuel Doe. For a brave speech heavily critical of Doe, she was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, of which she served two short periods of detention, one before and one after the 1985 election, before fleeing the country. The years in exile until returning for the elections of 1997, gave her considerable international experience at the Citibank in Nairobi, the UNDP and the World Bank. She held the post of Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the UNDP, formulating development strategies for African economies, and was Senior Loans Officer at the World Bank. Quick Look at positions Held by Ellen J. Sirlef: Standard Bearer - Unity Party (2005) Chair - Commission on Good Governance (Liberia) (2004 - 2005) Standard Bearer - Unity Party (1997) Director - UN Development Programme Regional Bureau for Africa (1992 - 1997) Vice President and member of the Executive Board - Equator Bank, Washington (1986 - 1992) Vice President Africa Regional Office - Citibank, Nairobi (1982 - 1985) Minister of Finance - Government of Liberia (1980 - ?) Secretary of State of Finance - Government of Liberia (1972 - 1973) Founding member - International Institute for Women in Political Leadership. Member of the Advisory Board - Modern Africa Growth and Investment Company. Member of the Finance Committee - Modern Africa Fund Managers President - Liberian Bank for Development and Investment President - Kormah Development and Investment Corporation Senior Loan Officer - World Bank. Vice President - Citibank .

Ruth Perry Ruth Perry is the first African woman to be nominated Head of State. Furthermore, as a Chairperson and Council of State of the Liberia National Transitional Government she presided over the disarmament of the warring parties in Liberia, repatriated and resettled refugees and displaced persons and conducted internationally acclaimed free and fair democratic elections. Before chairing the Council of State, she was supervisor at the Chase Manhattan Bank of Liberia. She also served as an Independent Legislator in a One Party Dominated Legislature. As Senator of the Grand Cape Mount County, she sponsored legislation to protect the rights of women and children. Ms Perry has founded Peace Now, Peace for Liberia as well as The Perry Center, and she is also a founding member of several other NGOs in her country. Ms Perry has received numerous awards for her life-long commitment to peace and development, including the Humanitarian and Service for Leadership and Dedication to the Advancement of Women in the World from the President/CEO, International Congress of Women of African Descent, USA as well as the "PEACE" award for restoring peace in Liberia from the Liberian Women Non-Governmental Organisations. 1996-97 Acting President & Leader of the Government. Ruth Perry a former senator, she was Chairperson of the Council of State.

Angie Elizabeth Brooks-Randolph Brooks was one of nine children, and her parents were forced by poverty to place her in a foster home where she was brought up by a widowed seamstress. Ambitious to become a lawyer, she personally accosted President Tubman and prevailed on him to finance her education in the USA, were she graduated first from Shaw State University and then in law and political science from the University of Wisconsin and later studied at the University of London. She was accredited by the Liberian Supreme Court in 1953, as the first woman Liberian lawyer. She had a career in government administration and legal education in Liberia before being appointed assistant secretary of state in 1958. In 1969 she became the first African woman to be elected president of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In addition to two biological children she also has a number of foster or adopted children. Quick Look at Positions she Held President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, 1969. Attorney. Assistant Attorney General of Liberia, August, 1953-March, 1958. Professor of Law, Liberia Unviersity, 1954-1958. Liberian Ambassador to the United Nations, 1954-??. Assistant Secretary of State of Liberia, 1958-??. President, United Nations Trusteeship Council, 1966. President of the 24th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, 1969.

Helene Cooper BA, Journalism, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Helene Cooper came to the United States at 14 years of age, Ms. Cooper holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill. She has been a reporter since 1987--most recently (since 1992) with The Wall Street Journal. At the Wilson Center, Ms. Cooper will conduct research for a memoir, which she has titled The House at Sugar Beach. Helene Cooper joined the editorial board in October 2004. Ms. Cooper was previously the assistant bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal's Washington Bureau, overseeing a group of reporters focusing on international economics and foreign policy. From 1999 to 2002, she was the Wall Street Journal's international economics reporter. Before joining the Journal, Ms. Cooper was a reporter at the Providence Journal Bulletin from 1987 to 1992. In 2000 Ms. Cooper won the Raymond Clapper award for Washington reporting, for her stories on the negotiations on China's entry into the World Trade Organization. Quick Look at Position Held Assistant Editorial Page Editor - New York Times (Oct 2004 - ) Assistant Bureau Chief - Washington Bureau, Wall Street Journal (2002 - 2004) International Economics Reporter - Wall Street Journal (1999 - 2002)

Joyce Mends-Cole Attorney and Human Rights Promoter A skilled networker and activist, she continues to be motivated by a strong sense of social justice. Joyce Mends-Cole was UNHCR’s senior coordinator for refugee women/gender equality – a post she held for four years. As coordinator she worked to change attitudes and practice in UNHCR to ensure that refugee women participate in decisions about their lives and to increase assistance and protection provided to them. Joyce came to UNHCR from the United Nations Development Programme, where she was the senior regional gender advisor for the Africa Bureau, based in Ethiopia. She began her UN career in UNIFEM, as a consultant, later becoming the UNIFEM advisor to the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (now OCHA). Joyce has served on a number of boards, including the Women’s Commission. She is presently on the Advisory Board of the Women’s Rights project of Human Rights Watch. Joyce is a lawyer and has worked on development, displacement, justice and women’s rights issues for the past 20 years. She is a former staff member of Human Rights Watch and was an aide to a member of the U.S. Congress. She is a Liberian and has been involved in peace and reform efforts in Liberia.

Cheryl Dunye Cheryl Dunye received her BA from Temple University and her MFA from Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts. Dunye has received numerous national and international honors for her work in the media arts. Her third feature film, Miramax's, MY BABY'S DADDY, was a box office success and played at theaters nation wide. Dunye's second feature, the acclaimed HBO Films, Stranger Inside, garnered Dunye an Independent Spirit award nomination for best director in 2002. Dunye wrote, directed and starred in her first film which was the first African American lesbian feature film, The Watermelon Woman. It was awarded the Teddy Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and best feature in L.A.'s OutFest, Italy's Torino, and France's Creteil Film Festivals. Dunye's other works have been included in the Whitney Biennial and screened at festivals in New York, London, Tokyo, Cape Town, Amsterdam and Sydney. Dunye serves on the Directors Guild of America's Independent Council and on the advisory board for New York's Independent Film Project's Gordon Parks Award. She was also a mentor for IFP/ West Project Involve and a board member of Los Angeles OUTFEST. In addition Dunye has received grants from the Astraea Foundation and Frameline; a recipient of a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts; a fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation; and graced with the prestigious Anonymous was a Woman Award as well as a lifetime achievement award from Girlfriends Magazine. Dunye currently teaches in the Department of Film and Media Arts at Temple University and is at work on a slate of new projects in the US and abroad. Click for Dunye Filmography Quick Look at some film by Dunye Stranger Inside [2000] The Watermelon Woman [1996] Greetings from Africa [1995] The Potluck and the Passion [1993]

Dr. Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman She was born (October 27, 1926 -Died June 3, 2004) Dr. Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman, former President of the University of Liberia (1978 - 1984). the first and only woman to head an African university Dr. Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman, educator par excellence, scholar, philosopher, nationalist, patriot, and, above all, a compassionate, loving, and decent human being.Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman,who gave generously of her life to the service of her fellow human beings, particularly the poor, the powerless, and women.

Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley She earned her Ph.D. in English and Creative Writing (Poetry) from W estern Michigan University , Kalamazoo , MI in 2002. In 2003, Dr. Wesley accepted a position to teach Creative Writing and Global Literature in the English Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has taught at Western Michigan University , Grand Valley State University and at the University of Liberia prior to the Liberian civil war. Patricia has won the World Bank Fellowship, the African Graduate Award, the Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant, the Crab Orchard Award in Poetry, 2002, among others. She is the author of two books of poetry: Before The Palm Could Bloom: Poems of Africa, (New Issues Press, Western Michigan University, 1998) and Becoming Ebony (Southern Illinois University Press, 2003). Her third book of poems, For The River’s Rising is being edited for publication. Patricia’s work has been reviewed by prominent authors and in such magazines as Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Women’s Review of Books, among others. Her work has been anthologized in Echoes Across the Valley: Poets of Africa, (East African Educational Publisher, Nairobi , Kenya , 2000). Dr. Wesley’s poetry has also appeared in many literary journals and magazines, including, the New Orleans Review, Crab Orchard Review, The Bloomsbury Review, The Cortland Review, Newsday, American Journal of Nursing (AJN), among others. Quick Look at Position Held: Assistant Professor of English - Pennsylvania State University (2005 - ) Assistant Professor of English - Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2003 - 2005) Visiting Assistant Professor of English - Western Michigan University (2002 - 2003) Lecturer - University of Liberia (1980 - 1990) Click for more on Patricia

Cllr. Frances Johnson-Morris Johnson-Morris, a former judge and human rights activist Cllr. Frances Johnson-Morrisa former Chief Justice (1996 - 1997) and former National Director - Liberian Justice and Peace Commission. Present Chair - National Elections Commission of Liberia.

Dr. D. Everlyn S. Kandakai Executive Committee Member - Forum for African Women Educationalists and Minister for Education 1998 +

Amelia Ward 1975-89 Deputy Minister of Economc Planning, 1991-95 and 1998-2001 Minister of Panning and Economy, 1999-2001 Minister of Commerce and Industry , 2001-02 Minister of Planning and Economy , Chair of the Planning and Development Committee in the Episcopal Church of Liberia

Dr. Dorothy Musuleng-Cooper 1993-94 First Secretary of the Council of State Dorothy Musuleng-Cooper 1994-95 Minister of Foreign Affairs (First in the Cabinet) 2001-03 Minister of Gender Development From 1989 1. Vice-chairperson of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia

Liberia's first female cabinet minister

The Late Padmore, Mai Wiles (Edith) She was born August 20, 1916. She died in Wilmington, Delaware on July 3, 1988 Executive Secretary to the President (1951 - 1956) Special Assistant to the President (1963 - 1972) Minister of Health and Social Welfare (1972 - 1976) Positions held: Minister of Health and Social Welfare (1972 - 1976) Special Assistant to the President (1963 - 1972) Executive Secretary to the President (1951 - 1956)

Hanna Abedou Bowen Jones 1975-78 Minister of Post 1977-78 Minister of Communication 1978-81 Minister of Health and Social Security 1981-85 Ambassador to the UN In 1983-84 Vice-President and 1984 President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Victoria Refell 1995-96 Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Victoria Refell 1996-97 Deputy Chairperson of the Council of State (Vice-President) Ca. 1998- Advisor of President Charles Taylor

Please note that :
This is NOT the definitive list of notable women of Liberia, but if you know of any that we are missing, please let us know. We are not trying to dismiss the good works of other women. We just think that our women need role models to look up to, this is why we created this page. Though there are many women in Liberia that have done something outstanding, this list focuses on those who have achieved national or international recognition for it.We try to focus on the woman's achievements; regardless of her husband's achievements.

To send us your role models please send us detail`c informations on her biography. If you do wish to include photos, please either attach them by e-mail in .jpg , bmp,Tif, or gif format, or you may snail-mail them to us, along with a self return addressed to the following address:

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On behave of Liberian Online.Com. We sympathize with the families of those who have left us. May their soul rest in peace.
As for those who stay with us, We give our respect to you as a fine soldier for justice, democratic empowerment and equal opportunity as well as a patriotic, devoted and committed Liberian ladies who stood for values, principles and character that are so scarce in the nation building process today.