Much attention surrounded the 2006 inauguration of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state. After a year in office, there are promising signs of change in Liberia, but many challenges lie ahead.

Former Liberian president and strongman Charles Taylor has been taken to Sierra Leone under UN custody to face war crimes proceedings. His case will be watched closely on a continent where predatory leaders are rarely held accountable for their crimes.

Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf discusses the progress she has made as head of state and the challenges facing her country.

This meeting was presented by the International Institutions and Global Governance Program and the Women and Foreign Policy Program.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf discusses her country's peace, development, and relations with the United States.

Listen to Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state, speak about the challenges facing her country.

President Bush’s five-country trip to Africa is organized to showcase his policy successes on the continent.

In awarding the prize to three women activists, the Nobel committee is honoring the fact that women's full participation in society is essential to peace, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.

This report from the US Institute for Peace (USIP) details the first meeting of the Liberia Working Group, in November 2006. The Group was convened to address the major topics in Liberia's peacebuilding efforts, with a view to maintaining international interest, support, and engagement in Liberia to ensure a durable peace following the election of a democratic government led by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in November 2005. This briefing highlights the central points of the meeting and panelists' recommendations for the way forward: participants lauded Liberia for its efforts to reform the security sector, the establishment of the truth and reconciliation commission, and strong support from the United States. On the other hand, they raised concerns about the incomplete disarmament process, persistent bias in the media, lagging legal reform, and the continuing fragility of the sub-region.

In his Chicago Tribune column, Clarence Page has an interesting profile of new Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – in town to appear on Oprah. 

Jendayi Frazer argues that the conviction of Charles Taylor is in large part due to the Bush administration's investment of attention, energy, and diplomatic and financial resources to implement a comprehensive strategy in Liberia and the region.

Joel Strickland and Lloyd Girman of Buchanan Renewable Energies discuss their efforts to develop a domestic fuel industry that powers Liberia.

Steven Radelet, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and economic adviser to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, discusses Liberia's reconstruction and the economic challenges the country faces.