Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Liberia Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
She chaired Liberia's Council of State through the end of the first civil war, becoming the first woman to lead an African nation.
Ruth Sando Fahnbulleh Perry was a banker and then a senator for Grand Cape Mount County, elected in 1985 in an election she won despite standing against the party of the sitting head of state.
By 1996 Liberia had been at war for six years, Monrovia had been fought over repeatedly, and the warlords on the transitional Council of State had spent two years failing to disarm anyone. West African leaders meeting at Abuja settled on a chair none of the factions could claim as their own: a woman with no militia, no faction and no ambition to be president.
She was installed in September 1996 as chairman of the Council of State — the first woman to serve as head of state of any African country. She lasted eleven months and delivered the one thing the job required: disarmament of the factions and an election. She told the warlords, in public and repeatedly, that she was speaking to them as a mother, and appears to have been the only person they would tolerate saying it.
Charles Taylor won the election of July 1997 and she handed over. She spent the rest of her life on women's and children's causes and on the mediation networks that later produced the women's peace movement Leymah Gbowee led. She died in 2017.
By 1996 Liberia had been at war for six years, Monrovia had been fought over repeatedly, and the warlords on the transitional Council of State had spent two years failing to disarm anyone. West African leaders meeting at Abuja settled on a chair none of the factions could claim as their own: a woman with no militia, no faction and no ambition to be president.
She was installed in September 1996 as chairman of the Council of State — the first woman to serve as head of state of any African country. She lasted eleven months and delivered the one thing the job required: disarmament of the factions and an election. She told the warlords, in public and repeatedly, that she was speaking to them as a mother, and appears to have been the only person they would tolerate saying it.
Charles Taylor won the election of July 1997 and she handed over. She spent the rest of her life on women's and children's causes and on the mediation networks that later produced the women's peace movement Leymah Gbowee led. She died in 2017.
Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will check it.