Jerry Rawlings
Jerry Rawlings | |
|---|---|
Rawlings in 2019 | |
| President of Ghana | |
| In office 7 January 1993 – 7 January 2001 | |
| Vice President | Kow Nkensen Arkaah (1993–1997) John Atta Mills (1997–2001) |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Chairman of the PNDC) |
| Succeeded by | John Kufuor |
| Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council | |
| In office 31 December 1981 – 7 January 1993 | |
| Vice President | Daniel Annan |
| Preceded by | Hilla Limann (as President) |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as President) |
| Chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council | |
| In office 4 June 1979 – 24 September 1979 | |
| Vice President | Kojo Boakye-Djan |
| Preceded by | Fred Akuffo |
| Succeeded by | Hilla Limann (as President) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jerry Rawlings John 22 June 1947 Accra, then part of the Colony of the Gold Coast |
| Died | 12 November 2020 (aged 73) Accra, Ghana |
| Resting place | Burma Camp |
| Political party | National Democratic Congress (after 1992) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, including Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings |
| Profession | Fighter pilot |
| Awards | UDS Honorary Award |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Ghana Air Force |
| Years of service | 1968–1992 |
| Rank | Flight lieutenant |
Jerry John Rawlings (born Jerry Rawlings John; 22 June 1947 – 12 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician who led the country briefly in 1979 and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta with an iron fist until 1993 and then served two terms as the democratically elected president of Ghana. He was the longest-serving leader in Ghana's history, presiding over the country for 19 years.
Rawlings came to power in Ghana as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force following a coup d'état in 1979. Before that, he led an unsuccessful coup attempt against the ruling military government on Tuesday, 15 May 1979, just five weeks before scheduled democratic elections were due. After handing power over to a civilian government, he overthrew the democratically elected Government through a military coup on Thursday, 31 December 1981, as the chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
In 1992, Rawlings resigned from the military, founded the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and became the first president of the Fourth Republic. Rawlings brokered a ceasefire in 1995 during the First Liberian Civil War. He was re-elected in 1996 for four more years. After two terms in office, the limit according to the Ghanaian Constitution, Rawlings endorsed his vice-president John Atta Mills as a presidential candidate in 2000. Rawlings served as the African Union envoy to Somalia. He died in 2020 at age 73 and was accorded a state funeral.