Published: March 4, 2026
CAPITOL HILL, Monrovia — Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will address Liberia’s House of Representatives on Thursday in what Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon describes as a historic plenary session focused on leadership and governance.
The session, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on March 5, was confirmed through official correspondence between the Speaker and the former president, marking a rare engagement between a former head of state and sitting lawmakers during a formal legislative sitting.
In a letter dated Feb. 27, Koon invited Sirleaf to speak to members of the 55th Legislature, saying her experience and perspective could help guide lawmakers as they confront current national challenges.
“Your visit with the lower house will lend experience, expertise, and wisdom to the resolution of many current issues and bring much-needed relief to our people,” Koon wrote.
Sirleaf accepted the invitation in a response dated March 2, describing the opportunity as an unprecedented gesture in Liberia’s legislative history.
“I believe that by this invitation you will be establishing an unprecedented gesture that will go down in history,” Sirleaf wrote in her reply to the Speaker.
Her security team has already inspected the Capitol Building ahead of the visit to confirm entry routes and logistical arrangements for the event.
According to the Speaker’s office, Sirleaf is expected to share reflections on leadership practices, governance challenges and Liberia’s future development trajectory, drawing on her experience as Africa’s first elected female head of state and Liberia’s president from 2006 to 2018.
Koon urged lawmakers to attend the plenary, noting that the former president will engage members in a discussion on national leadership and the country’s direction in the coming years.
“She will be here to exchange experiences with us and to tell us what she hopes Liberia will be like a few years from now,” the Speaker said.
The session is expected to provide legislators an opportunity to hear directly from Sirleaf on governance and public administration, as Liberia continues to confront economic pressures, institutional reforms and broader policy challenges.
Officials say preparations for the event are in their final stages, with security and logistical arrangements coordinated between the House of Representatives and Sirleaf’s team. The program is expected to include remarks by the former president followed by an exchange with lawmakers on leadership and governance issues.
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