George Weah: From football star to Liberian president

Outside Liberia, George Weah is best-known as a football player. In his heyday, he was considered to be one of the best strikers in the world. Football helped Weah escape a life of hardship. The son of a mechanic, he grew up in a slum in the Liberian capital. The family sank deeper into poverty after his father's early death. Fortunately, Weah was discovered by a Liberian football team.

George Weah was Liberia's top scorer in 1987 and played for Invincible Eleven, the country's leading team at the time. When his club played against the Cameroonian side Tonnerre Yaounde, officials noticed his talents and signed him up to play for their club. But life in Cameroon wasn't easy. Weah had to live with other players and struggled with speaking French, Cameroon's national language.

After six months in Cameroon, Weah joined French club AS Monaco in 1988. It was the beginning of his successful career in Europe that saw him play for the continent's top leagues and clubs. He was world football player of the year in 1995 and was chosen trice as African footballer of the year. Milan's former coach Arrgo Sacchi once said about him: "With every action he's re-inventing football."

But while George Weah made it big as a player in Europe, his dream of playing at a World Cup tournament was never fulfilled. In 2002, Liberia qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Mali. Weah was the team's technical director, but announced his resignation as a player and an official after the team was knocked out in the group stages.

Weah has used his success to help others who are less fortunate. In 1997, the UN's children fund UNICEF appointed him special representative for sports. Weah has donated large sums to charity. This has made him popular in his war-ravaged home country, where he maintained close contacts over the years.

George Weah is married to Clar, a US citizen with Jamaican roots. The couple has three children. His oldest son is following in his father's footsteps as a football player. Weah named a Liberian TV station that he owns after his wife. "She always supported me and motivated me to do something for my country," he told German magazine "Stern" in 2008.

George Weah had to face a number of setbacks after the end of his football career. He became a politician and took a shot at the presidency at Liberia'a first democratic elections after the end of the civil war in 2005. He came in second place in a runoff after former World Bank Vice President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Johnson-Sirleaf scored 59.4 percent of the vote, Weah got 40.6 percent.

After an unsuccessful bid to become vice president in 2011, Weah managed to win a seat in the senate, Liberia's upper house of parliament in 2014. Weah defeated his main rival, President Johnson-Sirleaf's son Robert, by a landslide, winning 78 percent of the vote. But according to media reports, Weah was rarely seen in parliament, nor did he sponsor any legislation.

George Weah has proven to be a political fighter. In 2017 he again ran for the presidency. While his supporters have continued to cheer on their idol, Weah's decision to choose Jewel Taylor as his running mate shocked people both at home and abroad. She is the ex-wife of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who was convicted of war crimes in 2012.

George Weah won the first round of the elections in October 2017. A necessary runoff was postponed by Liberia's Supreme Court after another candidate complained of fraud. Weah won the runoff on December 26, 2017, with 61.5 percent of the vote. Former Vice President Joseph Bokai scored 38.5 percent of the vote. Bokai was quick to accept defeat and congratulated Weah.