President of the Republic of Ghana |
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![]() Flag of Ghana |
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Style | His Excellency |
Residence | Golden Jubilee House |
Term length | Four years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | Kwame Nkrumah Republic established Jerry John Rawlings Current Constitution |
Formation | Republic Day 1 July 1960 1992 Constitution 15 May 1992 |
Website | http://www.presidency.gov.gh, http://www.ghana.gov.gh |
Ghana |
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The President of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana. Officially styled President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghanaian Armed Forces. The current President of Ghana is John Dramani Mahama, who succeeded to the presidency on 24 July 2012 following the death of John Atta Mills.
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Eligibility
According to Chapter 8. Article 62 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, a person shall not be qualified for election as the President of Ghana unless -
- (a) he/she is a citizen of Ghana by birth (or both parents must have been born in Ghana);
- (b) he/she has attained the age of forty years; and
- (c) he/she is a person who is otherwise qualified to be elected a Member of Parliament, except that the disqualifications set out in paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of clause (2) of article 94 of this Constitution shall not be removed, in respect of any such person, by a presidential pardon or by the lapse of time as provided for in clause (5) of that article.
Oath of office
The president of Ghana must be sworn in by the Chief Justice before the citizens of Ghana at the Black Star square in Accra. The president-elect must repeat the following:
(So help me God.)
Insignia
After the oath of office has been taken by the elected president, these following insignia are handed over to the president. These devices are used to display the rank of his/her office and are used on special occasions.
- President's Sword (image)
List of Presidents of Ghana (1960–Present)
Convention People's Party National Democratic Congress New Patriotic Party
# | Name (Born–Died) |
Picture | Took office | Left office | Elected (Parliament) |
Political Party |
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Presidents of the Republic of Ghana (First Republic: 1960–1966) | ||||||
1 | Dr.h.c. Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972) |
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1 July 1960 | 24 February 1966 (Deposed in a coup d'état) |
1951 (2nd) 1954 (3rd) 1956 (4th) 1965 (5th) |
Convention People's Party |
State Presidents as Head of State (Second Republic: 1966–1972) | ||||||
1 | Major-General Joseph Arthur Ankrah (1915–1992) (Chairman of the National Liberation Council) |
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24 February 1966 | 2 April 1969 | — | National Liberation Council |
2 | Brigadier Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa (1936–1979) (Chairman of the National Liberation Council & Chairman of the Presidential Commission) |
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2 April 1969 | 7 August 1970 | — | National Liberation Council |
3 | Nii Amaa Ollennu (1906–1986) (Acting President & Chairman of Presidential Commission) |
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7 August 1970 | 31 August 1970 | — | Presidential Commission |
4 | Edward Akufo-Addo (1906–1979) (Chairman of the National Liberation Council) |
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31 August 1970 | 13 January 1972 (Deposed in a coup d'état) |
— | National Liberation Council |
— | Kofi Abrefa Busia (1913–1978) (Prime Minister & Acting President) |
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1 October 1969 | 13 January 1972 (Deposed in a coup d'état) |
1969 (1st) | Progress Party |
5 | Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (1931–1979) (Chairman of the National Redemption Council & Chairman of the Supreme Military Council) |
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13 January 1972 | 5 July 1978 (Deposed in a palace coup d'état) |
— | Supreme Military Council |
6 | Lieutenant-General Frederick Fred William Kwasi Akuffo (1937–1979) (Chairman of the Supreme Military Council) |
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5 July 1978 | 4 June 1979 (Deposed in a coup d'état) |
— | Supreme Military Council |
State Presidents as Head of State (Third Republic: 1979–1981) | ||||||
1 | Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings (1947–) (Chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) |
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4 June 1979 | 24 September 1979 (1st Term) |
— | Armed Forces Revolutionary Council |
2 | Dr. Hilla Limann (1934 – 1998) |
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24 September 1979 | 31 December 1981 (Deposed in a coup d'état) |
1979 (1st) | People's National Party |
1 | Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings (1947–) (Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council) |
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31 December 1981 | 7 January 1993 (2nd Term) |
— | Provisional National Defence Council |
Presidents of the Republic of Ghana (Fourth Republic: since 1993) | ||||||
1 | Jerry John Rawlings (1947–) |
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7 January 1993 | 7 January 2001 (2nd Term) |
1992 (1st) 1996 (2nd) |
National Democratic Congress |
2 | John Agyekum Kufuor (1938–) |
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7 January 2001 | 7 January 2009[1] | 2000 (3rd) 2004 (4th) |
New Patriotic Party |
3 | John Evans Atta Mills (1944–2012) |
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7 January 2009[1] | 24 July 2012 | 2008 (5th) | National Democratic Congress |
4 | John Dramani Mahama (1958–) |
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24 July 2012 | National Democratic Congress |
Residence
The President of Ghana's official residence was Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or Christiansborg Castle) in Accra. In 2007, the opposition MPs in Ghana stormed out of a parliamentary debate on whether to take out a $50m loan to build a new presidential palace. MPs from President John Kufuor's New Patriotic Party voted unanimously in favour of taking the loan from India.
They argued that the President should not be based in Osu Castle, where slaves used to be kept. The opposition National Democratic Congress said the money would be better spent elsewhere. The old flagstaff house used by Ghana's first president as a residence is being renovated into a museum, while the grounds on which it stands is being built up as an ultra modern office complex and residence for the president and vice-president of Ghana as well as their staff. The new presidential palace was expected to be completed by August 2008 but was finally completed in November 2008. At the inauguration of the new presidential palace, President John Kufuor revealed to the press that the new name of the palace would be Golden Jubilee House. The chosen name had drawn lots of criticism from Ghanaians in the country and abroad. The name was chosen in reference to the 50th anniversary of Ghana's Independence. Many Ghanaians considered this move a waste especially with Ghana's economy in serious trouble by the then NPP Government.
The newly built residency has not been officially occupied by John Atta Mills. Though part of the office space has been given to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is claimed that most of the work in the residency is not completed, not forgetting excuses of security risk attached to its close location to a highway as well as sharing a wall with the French Embassy. Despite this, the original name has been restored to Flagstaff House.
Latest election
Party | Candidate | First round | Second round | |||
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Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | |||
National Democratic Congress | John Atta Mills | 4,056,634 | 47.92% | 4,521,032 | 50.23% | |
New Patriotic | Nana Akufo-Addo | 4,159,439 | 49.13% | 4,480,446 | 49.77% | |
Convention People's | Paa Kwesi Nduom | 113,494 | 1.34% | |||
People's National Convention | Edward Mahama | 73,494 | 0.87% | |||
Democratic Freedom | Emmanuel Ansah-Antwi | 27,889 | 0.33% | |||
Independent | Kwasi Amoafo-Yeboah | 19,342 | 0.23% | |||
Democratic People's | Thomas Ward-Brew | 8,653 | 0.10% | |||
Reformed Patriotic Democrats | Kwabena Adjei | 6,889 | 0.08% | |||
Valid votes | 8,465,834 | 97.63% | 9,001,478 | 98.98% | ||
Invalid or blank votes | 205,438 | 2.37% | 92,886 | 1.02% | ||
Totals | 8,671,272 | 100.00% | 9,094,364 | 100.00% | ||
Voter turnout | 69.52% | 72.91% | ||||
Source: Electoral Commission of Ghana, [1], [2] |
See also
References
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