Ghana’s former President Jerry Rawlings died at age 73.
Ghana’s former leader Jerry Rawlings, who seized power twice in military coups but went on to bring democratic rule to the West African country, died on Thursday 12 November 2020 at the age of 73, the country’s president said.
President Nana Akufo-Addo said Rawlings died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in the capital, Accra, where he had been receiving treatment after a short illness.
Rawlings was born in 1947 to a Scottish father and a Ghanaian mother who died in September at the age of 101.
Rawlings, who trained as an air force officer, came to power in 1979 after leading his first coup, and then transferring power to civilian rule soon after.
In December 1981, he staged a second coup and was Ghana’s military leader until he introduced multiparty elections in 1992 that returned the country to democracy.
He won the elections and was sworn in as president in 1993 and served two elected four-year terms, leaving office in 2001.
Rawlings handed over power to John Kufour of the opposition party who had defeated Rawlings’ vice president in the previous year’s election.
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