From Monrovia to the World — and Back to Public Service

From Monrovia to international football

George Manneh Weah was born in Monrovia, Liberia, on 1 October 1966. He was raised largely by his grandmother, Emma Forkay Klonjlaleh Brown, and developed his football career through Liberian clubs before moving to Cameroon and then to Europe.

In 1988, Weah joined AS Monaco, where the club records 149 appearances and 66 goals. He won the Coupe de France with Monaco in 1991 before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 1992. PSG records 138 appearances and 55 goals between 1992 and 1995, with a French league title in 1994 and domestic cup honours.

His career reached its defining international milestone in 1995, when he won both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year. He later played for AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester City, Marseille and Al Jazira. At Chelsea, he was part of the squad that won the 2000 FA Cup.

Humanitarian service

Weah's public role developed alongside his sporting career. UNICEF records that he first worked with the organisation in 1994, helping publicise immunisation campaigns in Liberia, and became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1997. His work included support for HIV/AIDS education and other programmes in Liberia and Ghana.

Democratic politics

After football, Weah entered Liberian politics. He contested the presidency in 2005 and lost the runoff to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. In the 2014 Special Senatorial Election, the National Elections Commission recorded 99,226 votes for Weah in Montserrado County — 78.0 percent of the valid votes recorded for the Senate contest.

In 2017, he returned to the presidential race. The NEC recorded 732,185 votes, or 61.54 percent, for Weah in the December runoff against Joseph Nyuma Boakai. He was inaugurated on 22 January 2018, in a transfer the United Nations described as Liberia's first peaceful democratic transition between elected leaders in more than 70 years.

President of Liberia, 2018–2024

Weah served as President from January 2018 to January 2024. His administration pursued the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development and governed through the final withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission, the COVID-19 pandemic, significant economic pressures and major infrastructure and public-service programmes.

This website's Presidential Record separates verified completed projects from policies, programmes launched during the administration and projects inherited or implemented with development partners.

Democratic transition and current public life

In the 2023 presidential runoff, the NEC recorded 814,481 votes for Joseph Boakai and 793,914 for Weah. On 17 November 2023, before final certification, Weah publicly acknowledged that the remaining count could not reverse the result and conceded. International observers, including the European Union Election Observation Mission, later credited the timely concession with contributing significantly to the peaceful transfer of power.

Since leaving office, Weah has continued to make public and international appearances. In July 2026, he announced that he intends to contest Liberia's 2029 presidential election. His post-presidential engagements have included speeches on democratic institutions, law, leadership and public responsibility.