George Weah

===2009–2016===
Weah also remained active in Liberian politics, returning from the United States in 2009 to successfully campaign for the Congress for Democratic Change candidate in the [[Montserrado County]] senatorial by-election.<ref>[http://www.liberianobserver.com/node/3135 Weah Confronted.] Liberian Observer 25 November 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009</ref> Some analysts saw these moves as preparation for a repeat run for the Presidency in 2011,<ref>[http://www.theliberiandialogue.org/articles/c072207tws.htm College-bound George Weah gave us something to talk about.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725033845/http://www.theliberiandialogue.org/articles/c072207tws.htm |date=25 July 2008 }} The Liberian Dialogue 22 July 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2009</ref> and Weah did indeed later announce his intention to challenge Sirleaf in the [[2011 Liberian general election|2011 election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201008260072.html |title=Liberia: 'I Have Knowledge' |date=26 August 2010 |work=AllAfrica}}</ref> After a series of failed alliances with other opposition parties, the Congress for Democratic Change chose Weah as its 2011 vice presidential candidate, running with presidential candidate [[Winston Tubman]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.1847post.com/article/brumskine-siakor-another-dream-ticket |title=Brumskine-Siakor: Another Dream Ticket? |newspaper=The 1847 Post |date=9 February 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411005144/http://www.1847post.com/article/brumskine-siakor-another-dream-ticket | archive-date=11 April 2011 }}</ref> However, Sirleaf was re-elected, with the Tubman / Weah ticket receiving only 9.3% of the vote.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In 2014, he ran for election to the [[Senate of Liberia]] as a Congress for Democratic Change candidate in Montserrado County. He was elected to the Liberian Senate on 20 December 2014. Weah defeated Robert Sirleaf, the son of President Sirleaf, becoming the first Liberian international athlete elected to represent a county in the Legislature. He won a landslide victory, receiving 99,226 votes, which represented 78.0% of the total votes from the 141 polling centers, while Sirleaf, his closest rival received 13,692 votes, which is nearly 11% in the election marred only by a low turnout.<ref>[http://www.necliberia.org/senate2014/county_30_2.html Montserrado County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113151037/http://www.necliberia.org/senate2014/county_30_2.html |date=13 January 2018 }} NEC Liberia</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liberianobserver.com |title=Top News – The Liberian Observer|access-date=16 June 2016}}</ref> Following his election, Weah only occasionally attended sessions of the Senate and did not introduce or sponsor any legislation.<ref>{{cite news |title=George Weah, an ex-footballer, wins Liberia's presidential election |url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21733239-election-marks-liberias-first-democratic-transfer-power-1944-george-weah|access-date=31 December 2017 |newspaper=The Economist |date=29 December 2017}}</ref>