Clar Marie Duncan Weah (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Duncan; born 11 March 1965) is a

Jamaican-American Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican comm ...

businesswoman, philanthropist and advocate who was the first lady of

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

from 2018 to 2024. She is the wife of

George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...

, the 25th

President of Liberia The president of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Prior to the independence of Liber ...

. Clar established the Clar Hope Foundation in 2018, with the goal of improving the livelihoods of the least privileged in Liberia.

Biography

Early life and career

Clar Marie Duncan was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, and is the youngest of seven children. In her early youth, she migrated along with her family to the United States. In the United States, she attended the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

and earned her nursing license and a bachelor's degree in Health Sciences. She launched her career working as a customer service representative in New York at both

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

and

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...

, during which time she, in conjunction, managed small businesses. She later pursued her studies leading her to a nursing career. She worked at Jamaica Hospital in New York City.

Marriage and children

Clar married George Weah on 26 June 1993, and have three children – Martha Weah, George Weah Jr., and Timothy Weah. Their sons are international football players.

First Lady of Liberia (2018–2024)

Following the election of her husband as the 25th President of Liberia, Weah started her role as the First Lady of the Republic of Liberia. She set out to develop programs and social projects that encompass services targeting the assistance of orphans, street children, the elderly, women, and girls, with a focus on rural settings.

In 2018, the Clar Hope Foundation was founded as a non-political initiative. The foundation aims to assist disadvantaged children, youth and women. Its objectives focus on delivering essential educational and emergency healthcare as a universal and constitutional health-right to every Liberian citizen. The Clar Hope Foundation came from the merger of

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

solutions. In June 2019, President Weah launched Clar Weah's flagship initiative, the "She's You" movement. According to its mission statement, it aims to advance

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

through the promotion of women's empowerment and fight to end all forms of violence and detrimental practices against women, girls, and children. The She's You movement objectives are to create a conducive environment for women and girls to live free of violence, rape, gender inequalities At the launch of "She's You", President Weah disclosed that on his wife's initiative, the new home for the elderly in

Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with th ...

was almost ready for use. In September 2020, at the launch of the Liberian Anti-SGBV Conference, Clar Weah reiterated that there was no excuse for rape in her country. She explained that despite her efforts with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, sexual and gender based violence continued. "But with all our efforts," she explained, "SGBV persists. It is sickening to hear children as young as 10 years old are being raped." She cited improved awareness of SGBV and the education of men and boys as priorities for reducing threats of violence again women.

Honours

Weah was appointed in March 2018, at a Women Symposium in Morocco, Ambassador and Champion for Women's Football, by the

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...

. Weah was appointed a Merck Foundation ''More than a Mother'' Ambassador to Liberia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weah, Clar 1965 births Living people First ladies and gentlemen of Liberia Liberian women's rights activists People from Kingston, Jamaica Weah family 21st-century Liberian women 21st-century Liberian people Jamaican philanthropists Jamaican women philanthropists Liberian philanthropists Liberian women philanthropists