|
 MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - Africa's first elected female head of state Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in Monday as war-battered Liberia's new president, promising a "fundamental break" with the West African nation's violent past and pledging to rebuild.
With U.S. Navy warships offshore for the first time since the civil war's end two years ago, and first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on hand in a show of support, the moment was met with thunderous applause from thousands of guests.
"We know that your vote was a vote for change, a vote for peace, security ... and we have heard you loudly," the 67-year-old Sirleaf said in her inaugural speech. "We recognize this change is not a change for change's sake, but a fundamental break with the past."
|