List of heads of state of Ghana

Ghana

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Prior to independence in 1957, Ghana was known as the British colony of Gold Coast. Before then it had been divided among a number of states, by far the largest of which was the Ashanti Empire, whose rulers were known as the Asantehene.

Heads of State of Ghana (1957 – Present)

(Dates in italics indicated de facto continuation of office)

Tenure	Portrait	Incumbent	Affiliation	Notes
Ghana	Unification of Gold Coast and British Togoland upon independence from Britain
6 March 1957 to 1 July 1960		Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Ghana. represented by:-
6 March 1957 to 24 June 1957		Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke, Governor-General
24 June 1957 to 1 July 1960		The 5th Earl of Listowel, Governor-General
Tenure	Portrait	Incumbent	Affiliation	Notes
Republic of Ghana
1 July 1960 to 24 February 1966		Kwame Nkrumah|Kwame Nkrumah, President	CPP	Deposed in a coup d'état
24 February 1966 to 2 April 1969		Major-General Joseph Arthur Ankrah, Chairman of the National Liberation Council	Mil
2 April 1969 to 3 September 1969		Brigadier Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa, Chairman of the National Liberation Council	Mil	Later General
3 September 1969 to 7 August 1970		Brigadier Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa, Chairman of the Presidential Commission
7 August 1970 to 31 August 1970		Nii Amaa Ollennu, acting President
31 August 1970 to 13 January 1972		Edward Akufo-Addo, President	n-p	Deposed in a coup d'état
13 January 1972 to 9 October 1975		Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Chairman of the National Redemption Council	Mil	Later General
9 October 1975 to 5 July 1978		General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council		Deposed in a palace coup d'état
5 July 1978 to 4 June 1979		Lieutenant-General Frederick Fred William Kwasi Akuffo, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council	Mil	Deposed in a coup d'état
4 June 1979 to 24 September 1979		Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, Chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council	Mil	born Jeremiah Rawlings John
24 September 1979 to 31 December 1981		Dr. Hilla Limann, President	PNP	Deposed in a coup d'état
31 December 1981 to 7 January 1993		Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council	PNDC
7 January 1993 to 7 January 2001		Jerry John Rawlings, President	NDC	After retiring from the Armed Forces
7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009		John Agyekum Kufuor, President	NPP	Elected 28 December 2000
7 January 2009 to Present		John Evans Atta Mills, President	NDC	Elected 2 January 2009

Affiliations

PNP	Peoples National Party  social democrat, Nkrumah personalist
NDC	National Democratic Congress  social democrat
NLM	National Liberation Movement  Asante regionalist 1954-1957, 1966-
NPP	New Patriotic Party  liberal
PP	Progress Party
CPP	Convention People's Party  authoritarian, socialist, Nkrumah personalist, 1949-1966, 1960-1966 - only legal party
NAL	National Alliance of Liberals  1966-1970
Mil	Military
n-p	non-partisan

Sources

• http://www.rulers.org/rulg1.html#ghana
• Guinness Book of Kings, Rulers & Statesmen, Clive Carpenter, Guinness Superlatives Ltd
• African States and Rulers, John Stewart, McFarland
• Heads of State and Government, 2nd Edn., John V da Graça, MacMillan Press Ltd, 2000

See also

• Ghana
  • List of Ghana Heads of state by age
  • Vice-Presidents of Ghana
  • Heads of government of Ghana
  • Colonial Heads of Ghana
  • List of Ghana governments
• Lists of incumbents