Retired footballer George Weah on Wednesday won the elections in Liberia to become that country’s 25th president.
The senator of Montserrado County – once named Fifa World Player and winner of the much-coveted Ballon d’Or – defeated his 73-year-old opponent Vice President Joseph Boakai in a landslide victory in results announced in Liberia on Wednesday morning.
“I am deeply grateful to my family, my friends, and my loyal supporters who contributed to our campaign during this extremely long election season,” Weah said on Twitter before the results were announced.
He won 12 out of 15 counties.
As Liberia’s first female head of state, 79-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, steps down. She leaves the impoverished West African country still reeling from the effects of previous wars and the deadly Ebola outbreak.
