Ghana
Ghana, 1957 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
Ghana became the first colony in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty on 6 March 1957. Under President Kwame Nkrumah, the new country became influential in decolonisation efforts and the Pan-African movement. Ghana is now a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is head of state and head of government.
Seat of power: Accra
Rulers
Kwame Nkrumah
President of Ghana, 1960–1966
In 1960 Ghanaians approved a new constitution and elected Nkrumah as president. His administration funded national industrial and energy projects and developed a strong national education system. In 1964 a constitutional amendment made Ghana a one-party state, with Nkrumah as president for life.
Portrait of Kwame Nkrumah: The National Archives UK - Flickr account, OGL v1.0, file
Joseph Arthur Ankrah
President of Ghana, 1966–1969
He ruled as chairman of the National Liberation Council and was Ghana's first military head of state. He resigned in April 1969 amid a bribery scandal involving a Nigerian businessman.
Portrait of Joseph Arthur Ankrah: Yoichi Okamoto, Public domain, file
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Akwasi Afrifa
President of Ghana, 1969–1970
He replaced Joseph Arthur Ankrah as head of state in April 1969, after Ankrah was forced to resign over a bribery scandal. He handed over to Busia, who became prime minister at the start of the Second Republic, and stayed on as chairman of the Presidential Commission until August 1970.
Edward Akufo-Addo
President of Ghana, 1970–1972
From 31 August 1970 until a coup removed him on 13 January 1972, he was President of Ghana in the Second Republic. His role was largely ceremonial, with real power held by the prime minister, Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia.
Nii Amaa Ollennu
President of Ghana, 1970–1970
He served briefly as acting president of Ghana from 7 August 1970. He took over from the previous military leader, Afrifa, and handed over on 31 August 1970 to Edward Akufo-Addo.
Ignatius Kutu Acheampong
President of Ghana, 1972–1978
On 13 January 1972 he led a bloodless coup to overthrow the elected government of the Progress Party. His rule brought Operation Feed Yourself, a programme aimed at developing self-reliance in agriculture, and the change from driving on the left to driving on the right. There were also widespread accusations of both the encouragement and endorsement of corruption under his rule.
Fred Akuffo
President of Ghana, 1978–1979
On 5 July 1978 he led a palace coup to overthrow the head of state, General Ignatius Acheampong. He continued the preparations to return Ghana to constitutional rule, but his government was cut short on 4 June 1979 by a military uprising.
Hilla Limann
President of Ghana, 1979–1981
He was elected president on the People's National Party ticket and won 62% of the vote in the second round. He was an economic moderate who supported democratic values and Pan-Africanism. He was deposed in a coup by Rawlings on 31 December 1981.
Jerry Rawlings
President of Ghana, 1979–1979
He first led an unsuccessful coup attempt against the ruling military government on 15 May 1979, five weeks before scheduled democratic elections. He then came to power in Ghana as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force, following a coup, and led the country briefly in 1979. He then handed power over to a civilian government.
Portrait of Jerry Rawlings: Mark Renders / European Communities, 1998 / EC - Audiovisual Service, CC BY 4.0, file
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Jerry Rawlings
President of Ghana, 1981–2001
On 31 December 1981 he overthrew the elected government through a military coup, as chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council. In 1992 he resigned from the military, founded the National Democratic Congress and successfully ran for president, becoming the first president of the Fourth Republic. He was the longest-serving president in Ghana's history, presiding over the country for 19 years.
Portrait of Jerry Rawlings: Mark Renders / European Communities, 1998 / EC - Audiovisual Service, CC BY 4.0, file
John Kufuor
President of Ghana, 2001–2009
His vision was set out in the Five Priority Areas Programme: good governance, modernization of agriculture for rural development, private sector participation, enhanced social services and vigorous infrastructure development. He followed a good neighbourliness policy, and Ghana under Kufuor brokered peace in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau.
Portrait of John Kufuor: U.S. Army photo by Gregory Jones/Released, Public domain, file
John Evans Atta Mills
President of Ghana, 2009–2012
He presided over Ghana's first ever foray into oil production, after oil was discovered in commercial quantities under his predecessor, John Kufuor. To make revenue collection more efficient, Mills established the Ghana Revenue Authority. The Mills government also implemented the Single Spine Salary system, which increased compensation levels of all public sector workers.
Portrait of John Evans Atta Mills: Simon Wedege, CC BY 3.0, file
John Mahama
President of Ghana, 2012–2017
He became president on 24 July 2012, on the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills. He said his administration was deeply committed to continuing the Better Ghana Agenda started under President Mills. He won the December 2012 general election with 50.70% of the total valid votes cast.
Portrait of John Mahama: Cabinet Public Relations Office of the Cabinet Secretariat, CC BY 4.0, file
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Nana Akufo-Addo
President of Ghana, 2017–2025
In the 2016 elections he defeated incumbent John Dramani Mahama in the first round, winning with 53.85% of the votes. The latter part of his tenure was marked with the worst financial crises in Ghana in a generation, with inflation reaching up to 40% in both 2022 and 2023. Because he was term-limited, he peacefully handed over power to Mahama on 7 January 2025.
Portrait of Nana Akufo-Addo: Mission of Norway to the EU, CC BY 2.0, file
John Mahama
President of Ghana, 2025 to today
He was re-elected in the 2024 election, defeating the then incumbent vice president Mahamudu Bawumia. He is the first president in Ghanaian history to be democratically elected to a non-consecutive second term.
Portrait of John Mahama: Cabinet Public Relations Office of the Cabinet Secretariat, CC BY 4.0, file
Culture
- Ghana is a multi-ethnic country with various linguistic and religious groups, and the Akan are the largest ethnic group.
- Most Ghanaians are Christians, almost a fifth are Muslims, and about a tenth practise traditional faiths or report no religion.
- The Akosombo Dam was built between 1961 and 1965, and its primary purpose was to provide electricity for the aluminium industry.
Picture
The Akosombo Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Volta River whose construction led to the creation of Lake Volta.
Image: SandisterTei, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.