Angie Brooks

Angie Elizabeth Brooks (August 24, 1928 – September 9, 2007) was a Liberian diplomat and jurist. She is notable for being the only African female President of the United Nations General Assembly.

In 1954 she became Liberia's representative to the United Nations, In 1969, she was chosen as the President of the General Assembly and took office in 1970.

She also served as Assistant Secretary of State of Liberia and a supreme court justice.

Background

The daughter of a Baptist minister and one of nine children, Brooks was raised by a widowed seamstress. to Richard A. Henries (who later became Speaker of the Liberian House of Representatives, she decided to seek a higher education. Brooks partially financed her studies by working as a dishwasher, laundress, a library assistant, and nurse's aide. In 1949, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social science from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Three...
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