She was finance minister when an illiterate master sergeant launched a 1980 coup that saw a dozen other ministers executed. Though spared, she was jailed twice _ once for seven months. Her aides say her captors threatened to kill her several times, carrying out mock executions.
Johnson-Sirleaf took on the country's most feared and powerful warlord, Charles Taylor, in 1997 elections. Though she lost by a landslide, she rose to national prominence, earning the nickname "Iron Lady."
Taylor plunged Liberia into civil war in 1989, leading a rebel invasion that pitted him against several other factions. Several years after he became president, rebels took up arms against Taylor, forcing him from power in 2003. He lives in exile in Nigeria but is wanted by a U.N.-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone for his role in fueling that country's own conflict.
Nigeria has been under intense international pressure to hand Taylor over to the court, and the United Nations says it will arrest him if he returns to Liberia.
Johnson-Sirleaf declined to say whether she would like to see a trial for Taylor, who has a following in Liberia despite his track record. She said only that she would first consult with West African leaders, and "let the law take its course."
Reaching out to her opponents will be key not only to Johnson-Sirleaf's success, but to peace and stability in Liberia, a country founded by freed American slaves in 1847 that has been torn by bloody coups and war since 1980. Around 200,000 people have died in the fighting, and millions have been displaced.
Johnson-Sirleaf said she would offer Weah a Cabinet post, and wants to bring in other rivals to form a "government of inclusion."
"The biggest challenge I have is that there will be all these disaffected political leaders, warlords and whatnot who are disgruntled, who would not like to see the success of the government," she said. "Much of their disenchantment is based on fear, fear that they will be brought to book for corruption or human rights abuses, and I've assured them there will be no witch-hunting, there will be no looking for skeletons in the closet."
Another item at the top of her agenda: making sure tens of thousands of ex-combatants, who laid down arms last year, are in school, in training programs, or employed. The jobless rate is estimated at 80 percent.
She said she will urge donors and international monetary organizations to cancel the country's crippling debt, which she said was $3.5 billion. The country's national budget is just $80 million.
She also vows to stamp out corruption.
