Supporting Liberia's Reconstruction and Development

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's inauguration as the President of Liberia in January 2006 marked a watershed in that country's tumultuous history. Twenty-five years of corruption, misrule and civil war under Samuel Doe, Charles Taylor and successive interim governments had left the country in complete ruins. President Sirleaf, the first African woman to be elected head of state, has energetically set the country on a new course, putting accountability, transparency, good governance, and economic opportunities for all Liberians at the center of her agenda.

Former CGD senior fellow Steve Radelet and others from the Center have been advising President Sirleaf and senior members of her government since December 2005, the month before she took office. The substance of the work has been wide-ranging, and has included aid coordination, aid quality, debt relief, poverty reduction and growth strategies, capacity building, and civil service reform, among other issues. Debt relief and aid coordination have been particular areas of focus.

CGD support to the Liberian government also includes helping to arrange the Scott Family Liberia Fellowships. Each year for the next three years, the Scott Family Liberia Fellows Program will provide an opportunity for five or six young professionals to work for one year as special assistants to top officials in Liberia. The program is funded by a generous $1 million contribution from the family of CGD chairman and co-founder Edward W. Scott, Jr.

This level of engagement in a developing country is unusual for CGD, because our primary focus is on improving the policies and practices of the rich world towards development. In addition to being helpful to Liberia, the relationship has provided CGD a unique opportunity to observe the complex interactions between donors and a developing country in the early stages of recovery from conflict.