|
|
|
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Sirleaf was awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Taawakkul Karmanazare of Yemen
Sirleaf, 72, was in 2005 the first elected female head of state in Africa.
This decision has sometimes been criticized, as this lady was in the process of an election and hoping to be reelected. The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the party of George Weah and Winston Tubman, the main formation of the Liberian opposition, has found the decision "unacceptable" and "undeserved". We will refrain from entering this controversy, while rejoicing to see a woman (a courageous and remarkable African one) so rewarded.
Nota Bene : A run off has taken place between Mrs Johnson Sirleaf and Mr Winston Tubman. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won this Liberian presidential runoff by a landslide thanks to an opposition boycott, but insists the poll is legitimate. Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first and only female president, was re-elected with 90.2% of the vote, but the opposition leader, Winston Tubman, has said he will not accept the outcome But what about fans? Fans are often used, we know, for political propaganda: it was so with Louis XIV, in the eighteenth-century England, during the French Revolution ... and even today in the United States and Africa for instance. It is therefore possible that fans bearing the image of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Winston Tubman have been recently edited.
But we want to talk about an oldest fan, although -as we shall see- it is not unrelated to the current political situation in Liberia.
Collection C & PH B
Indeed this fan celebrates the reelection of President William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (1895-1971) who ruled the country from 1944 to his death. C
William VS Tubman begins Second Term as Liberian President - Jet Magazine, January 17, 1952William Tubman was the uncle of Winston Tubman, the current opposer to Ms. Sirleaf. We assume that these fans were distributed at the inaugural ball mentioned in the article above.
The Vice President elected in 1952 with President Tubman was William Richard Tolbert, Jr. (1913-1980). He was Tubman's successor in 1971 and on April 12, 1980 was assassinated in still controversial circumstances during the coup of Sergeant Samuel Doe .
Photo Jack E. Kightlinger (Domaine public)
Compared to the model of the United States, which inspired the creation of the state of Liberia, the regime of Presidents Tubman and Tolbert was certainly not an ideal democracy. Power was largely confiscated by a sort of aristocracy, freed slaves coming from the nineteenth century United States. Yet compared with many other African countries, it was a relatively good political system. Unfortunately, the following years were certainly worse than the previous decades. After the 1971 S. Doe's coup, there was a civil war and the very difficult rule of Charles Taylor.
It is the honor of President Sirleaf to have proposed to her country a projects and actions for recovery and, above all, for reconciliation.
"Honesty, love, value, reconciliation cannot be legislated; it must come from the heart” (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf)
That is why she won this "Peace Nobel Prize." Truly worth that we get this old fan out of our drawers!
And may many countries all over the world follow this example....
Fan shaped african lead (Collection C&PH B)
Addendum The English collectors Walter and Jill MacLaren say that, thanks to this webpage, they have better identified aone of their fans. It happens that this fan is exactly the same that ours... but after the following presidential election ! They kindly allow us to share this fan photos here. They show that politician never age !!!
Et retrouvez ici nos autres "pages spéciales" - Click here for our other "Special Pages"
Retour à l'accueilBack Home
