Poised to become Liberia's first democratically elected woman president - as well as the first in Africa - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has a wish.
She says she wants to see more women succeed in politics across Africa, where top female government officials are rare.
Many of Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf's supporters have been women and from Liberia's educated elite. Known as the "Iron Lady," she says women are fed up with two decades of civil war in Liberia and want to see if they can make a difference.
She told VOA she also wants to help create better working conditions for women in street markets.
But Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf has other goals, too, as she tries to rebuild Liberia. A Harvard-educated economist who once served as the country's finance minister, she has promised to clean up corruption.
She also hopes to attract private capital and investment to the West African nation.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is 67, and the divorced mother of four sons.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
