Black Habits - Africa's first elected female leader takes over

(AP) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took office on January 16, 2006 as Liberia's new head of state, carving her name into history as Africa's first elected female president and taking the helm of a ruined country struggling for peace after a quarter century of coups and war.

Sirleaf pledged to unite her country and secure the trust of skeptical foreign donors whose aid is desperately needed to rebuild. She also hoped her ascension to power would be an inspiration to women worldwide.

"I am excited by the potential of what I represent -- the aspirations and expectations of women in Liberia, African women and women all over the world," the 67-year-old grandmother told a West African women's forum Saturday. "I am also humbled, humbled by the enormity of the challenge we face."

The United Nations stepped up security before the inauguration, redeploying about 500 peacekeepers previously stationed outside the capital to strategic points in Monrovia and the international airport.

Harvard-educated Sirleaf says her top priorities include stamping out corruption, getting electricity in the capital and assuring a future for 100,000 ex-combatants who laid down arms last year, many of whom are prowling the streets unemployed.

Sirleaf has been sworn in for a six-year term, taking charge of Africa's oldest republic, founded by freed American slaves in 1847.