Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

“As more men become more educated and women get educated, the value system has to be more enhanced and the respect for human dignity and human life is made better.”

“In terms of being able to renew my nation, to be able to be able to bring back a devastated country, to restore hope to our people, to lift women and to give them a new horizon, a new ambition and new dreams, in respect of all of that, I think we've accomplished it, and I feel very good about that.”

“I stand by it. I take the criticism for it. I think it's unfair, but yes, there is a thing about nepotism, and we all try to respect it.”

“I underestimated the low level of capacity. I also underestimated the cultural roots of corruption.”

“I think the majority of the Liberian people want peace.”

“I beg you I no magician. I can't just wave a magic wand.”

“We have to overcome the practice of male domination - even though it's changing, and changing in Liberia quite drastically.”

“I think we're ready for succession. We just must try to do it right.”

“Liberia just needs to go through this one political transition and it can really take off. Everything's in place now. We cannot afford to put the country in the hands of someone that lacks the experience.”

“I just think that unless you have that cohesiveness in the family unit, the male character tends to become very dominant, repressive and insensitive. So much of this comes also from a lack of education.”

“My mother was the strength. She was the anchor. She was a preacher and a teacher.”

“One has to look at my life story to see what I've done. I've paid a heavy price that many people don't realize.”

“When I took office, Liberia began to recover from years of neglect. Our people have brought clean water into the heart of Monrovia to children who have never known water from a tap. Efforts are underway to expand water projects as much as possible throughout the country.”

“Women work harder. And women are more honest; they have less reasons to be corrupt.”

“We've done a lot to restore Liberia's credibility, Liberia's reputation, Liberia's presence.”

“The people of Liberia know what it means to be deprived of clean water, but we also know what it means to see our children to begin to smile again with a restoration of hope and faith in the future.”

“The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”

“I've been involved in politics for quite some time. I've held positions, and my experiences are very deep, and I think I have the capacity, the courage, and the character to institute the kinds of reforms that are so desperately needed.”

“I would like to make sure, first of all, that our women in the informal sector - I mean, these are the farmers and the traders; many of them are not educated, many of them lacking literacy - be able to give them better working conditions. And we've done a lot to be able to achieve that.”

“I don't think people understand the awesomeness of the destruction of this country - its institutions, its infrastructure, its law, its morals.”