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Good morning. Back in 2005 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first woman to be elected President of an African country – Liberia. Hers was not an enviable job. After civil war Liberia needed almost complete reconstruction. Things have improved but her legacy will be crowned by the way she left office voluntarily this week, the first Liberian President for 70 years to hand over at an election. The people of Africa’s oldest republic still face many challenges. Corruption in public office remains a serious problem. The new President is the former international footballer George Weah, best known for his goals at AC Milan and who also played for Chelsea and Manchester City. George Weah chose to dress entirely in white for his inauguration, which took place, appropriately, in a football stadium. The use of white robes in such a context has a long history. In ancient Rome someone seeking public office wore a dazzling white toga, a toga candida, coming from the Latin candere, to shine. Even now we speak of someone who is honest and straightforward as candid. Our word candidate derives from the same source. When standing for public office candidates should thus shine with probity and honesty. Despite so many scandals, we do still expect as much. I imagine George Weah was consciously using the symbolism of dressing in white to signal a desire to serve his people with honest dedication. The symbolic power of a white cassock is also used by the Pope, though it’s only been customary for the Pope to wear white since the mid-16th century. Priests wear white over their ordinary clothes before putting on vestments for Mass. In paintings and iconography the figure of Christ is frequently clothed in white. Any symbolism can be misused or abused. The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists tried to claim the colour white for their own. But its long history of use in many different societies as a symbol of probity and honesty has prevented it being captured by them. Here at home it’s the white ribbon campaign to end male violence against women which provides a vivid example of the power of the colour white in our own culture. Ours is an age which still needs symbols, especially in our political and public life. George Weah demonstrated as much this week. Now the task is to match the symbol with action. I wish Liberia and its new President well.