First Female ECOWAS Chairman

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The United States may have its first female head of the executive in November. ECOWAS got there first. 

The executive office of ECOWAS is the Chairman, who is selected by the member heads of state for a term of one year. Earlier this month, first female president of Liberia Ellen Sirleaf was elected by her fellow heads of state to be the new chairman (or chairperson). Goals for ECOWAS include more trade, financial stability, and fighting terrorism.

One topic still under discussion is a single monetary unit by 2020. Previous launch dates for the "Eco" included 2003, 2005, 2009, and 2015.

President Sirleaf first won the presidency in 2005, becoming the first female elected head of state in Africa. She won re-election in 2011, the same year she won the Nobel Peace Prize (along with Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakkol Karman of Yemen).

Comments

  1. John JamesJune 28, 2016 at 12:56 AM

    Interesting development. But I still think it's sad that whenever you get these big ECOWAS summits, the main outcomes are just about who gets the rotating leadership chair, and a bit of crisis firefighting. When are we going to see some breakthroughs on integration/trade?

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