George Weah Has Been Elected As The New President Of Liberia

Chris Wright

27th, December 2017

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George Weah has become the first former Ballon d’Or winner to be elected as a world leader, having emerged victorious in his quest to become the new president of Liberia.

Weah topped the first round of voting back in October but didn’t garner the 50% needed to win overall. The subsequent do-over poll was then delayed twice but, on Boxing Day, the former Milan, PSG, Man City and Chelsea striker finally clinched the win over his opponent, long-serving vice-president Joseph Boakai.

The 51-year-old will take over from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace laureate and Liberia’s first elected female president.

Indeed, it was Sirleaf who beat Weah when he first ran for president in 2005.

Sirleaf will now step aside after two six-year terms in office after leading the often-turbulent country’s recovery from a 14-year civil war and having presided through an Ebola crisis that killed nearly 5,000 of her fellow countrymen and women in 2014/15.

Still, Weah scored ‘that’ goal against Hellas Verona in 1996, so we’re sure he’s perfectly qualified to take up the mantle.