Statement from Governor Chafee Regarding Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

I was heartened to learn that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had been awarded – along with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman – this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

As a U.S. Senator, I traveled to Liberia in 2005 to help monitor the country’s first open and fair presidential election after years of devastating civil war. The people of Liberia chose Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, making her Africa’s first democratically elected female president.

Since that time, I have followed President Sirleaf’s efforts to bring peace and stability to her previously war-torn nation. She is a role model not only for young women, but for all those who hope to bring positive change to the world.

I was honored to meet with President Sirleaf earlier this year at the Rhode Island State House. I know that, with Rhode Island’s significant Liberian population, she has many admirers in our state; I am proud to call myself one of them.

I applaud the Nobel Committee for recognizing President Sirleaf’s contributions to Liberia’s fragile peace, and I congratulate all three recipients of this prestigious prize.