List of heads of state of Ghana

This is a list of the heads of state of Ghana, from the independence of Ghana in 1957 to the present day.

From 1957 to 1960 the head of state under the Constitution of 1957 was the Queen of Ghana, Elizabeth II, who was also the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen was represented in Ghana by a Governor-General. Ghana became a republic under the Constitution of 1960 and the Monarch and Governor-General were replaced by an executive President.

Monarch (1957–1960)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

№	Monarch (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Reign		Royal House	Prime Minister
			Reign start	Reign end
1	Queen Elizabeth II (1926–)	File:Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Portrait Herbert James Gunn.jpg	6 March 1957	1 July 1960	Windsor	Nkrumah

Governor-General

The Governor-General was the representative of the Monarch in Ghana and exercised most of the powers of the Monarch. The Governor-General was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since Ghana was granted independence by the Ghana Independence Act 1957, rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous Dominion and later promoted to independence by the Statute of Westminster 1931, the Governor-General was to be always appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Ghana without the involvement of the British government, with the sole exception of Charles Arden-Clarke, the former colonial governor, who served as Governor-General temporarily until he was replaced by William Hare. In the event of a vacancy the Chief Justice served as Officer Administering the Government.

Status

  Denotes Chief Justice acting as Officer Administering the Government

№	Governor-General (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Monarch	Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
1	Sir Charles Arden-Clarke (1898–1962)		6 March 1957	14 May 1957	Elizabeth II	Nkrumah
–	Sir Kobina Arku Korsah (1894–1967)		14 May 1957	13 November 1957	Elizabeth II	Nkrumah
2	The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Listowel (1906–1997)	File:WilliamhareLOrd.jpg	13 November 1957	1 July 1960	Elizabeth II	Nkrumah

First Republic (1960–1966)

Under the 1960 Constitution, the first constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the President replaced the Monarch as executive head of state. The President was elected by Parliament for a 5-year term. In the event of a vacancy three Members of the Cabinet served jointly as Acting President.

Status

  Denotes three Members of the Cabinet acting jointly as President

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)
			Took office	Left office
1	Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972)		1 July 1960	26 February 1966 (deposed.)	1960 1965	style="background: Template:Convention People's Party/meta/color;" |	Convention People's Party

Military rule (1966–1969)

Lieutenant-General Joseph Arthur Ankrah led a coup d'état which overthrew President Nkrumah and his government, all political parties and Parliament were also dissolved.

№	Head of State (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Military
			Took office	Left office
2	Lieutenant-General Joseph Arthur Ankrah (1915–1992)	File:JosephAnkrah.png	24 February 1966	2 April 1969 (resigned.)	style="background: Template:Military Rule/meta/color;" |	National Liberation Council
3	Brigadier Akwasi Afrifa (1936–1979)		2 April 1969	3 September 1969	style="background: Template:Military Rule/meta/color;" |	National Liberation Council

Second Republic (1969–1972)

Status

  Denotes Speaker of Parliament and acting President

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)		Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
(3)	Brigadier Akwasi Afrifa (1936–1979)		3 September 1969	7 August 1970	–	style="background: Template:Military Rule/meta/color;" |	Military	Busia
–	Nii Amaa Ollennu (1906–1986)	File:Nii Amaa Ollennu.png	7 August 1970	31 August 1970	–	style="background: Template:Independent/meta/color;" |	Independent
4	Edward Akufo-Addo (1906–1979)		31 August 1970	13 January 1972 (deposed.)	–	style="background: Template:Independent/meta/color;" |	Independent

Military rule (1972–1979)

General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a coup d'état which overthrew the President Akufo-Addo, Prime Minister Abrefa Busia and his government, all political parties and Parliament was also dissolved.

Lieutenant General Fred Akuffo led a coup d'état which overthrew the General Acheampong then Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a coup d'état which overthrown the Supreme Military Council

№	Head of State (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Military
			Took office	Left office
5	General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (1931–1979)		13 January 1972	9 October 1975	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Military Rule/meta/color;" |	National Redemption Council
			9 October 1975	5 July 1978 (deposed.)	Supreme Military Council
6	Lieutenant-General Fred Akuffo (1937–1979)		5 July 1978	4 June 1979 (deposed.)	style="background: Template:Military Rule/meta/color;" |	Supreme Military Council
7	Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings (1947–)		4 June 1979	24 September 1979	style="background: Template:Military Rule/meta/color;" |	Armed Forces Revolutionary Council

Third Republic (1979–1981)

Under the 1979 Constitution the President is head of both state and government. The President is elected by Ghanaians and serves a four-year term that expires at the next general election; a President may serve a maximum of two terms. In the event of a vacancy the Vice-President serves as Acting President.

Status

  Denotes Vice-President acting as President

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)
			Took office	Left office
8	Hilla Limann (1934–1998)		24 September 1979	31 December 1981 (deposed.)	1979	style="background: Template:People's National Party (Ghana)/meta/color;" |	People's National Party

Military rule (1981–1993)

Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a coup d'état which overthrew President Limann and his government, all political parties and Parliament were also dissolved.

№	Head of State (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Military
			Took office	Left office
(7)	Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings (1947–)		31 December 1981	7 January 1993	style="background: Template:Military Rule/meta/color;" |	Provisional National Defence Council

Fourth Republic (1993–present)

Under the current Constitution the President is head of both state and government. The President is elected by Ghanaians and serves a four-year term that expires at the next general election; a President may serve a maximum of two terms. In the event of a vacancy, the Vice-President serves the remaining time as the President.

Status

  Denotes Vice-President acting as President

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)
			Took office	Left office
(7)	Jerry Rawlings (1947–)		7 January 1993	7 January 2001	1992 1996	style="background: Template:National Democratic Congress (Ghana)/meta/color;" |	National Democratic Congress
9	John Kufuor (1938–)		7 January 2001	7 January 2009	2000 2004	style="background: Template:New Patriotic Party/meta/color;" |	New Patriotic Party
10	John Atta Mills (1944–2012)		7 January 2009	24 July 2012 (died in office)	2008	style="background: Template:National Democratic Congress (Ghana)/meta/color;" |	National Democratic Congress
11	John Mahama (1958–)		24 July 2012	7 January 2017	2012	style="background: Template:National Democratic Congress (Ghana)/meta/color;" |	National Democratic Congress
12	Nana Akufo-Addo (1944–)		7 January 2017	Incumbent	2016	style="background: Template:New Patriotic Party/meta/color;" |	New Patriotic Party

Standards

• 
  Governor-General's Standard
• 
  Presidential Standard

Living former heads of state

Image	Name	Term/Reign	Office	Date of birth
	Elizabeth II	1957–1960	Queen of Ghana	(1926-04-21) 21 April 1926
	Jerry Rawlings	1979 1981–1993 1993–2001	Military ruler President of Ghana	(1947-06-22) 22 June 1947
	John Kufuor	2001–2009	President of Ghana	(1938-12-08) 8 December 1938
	John Dramani Mahama	2012–2016	President of Ghana	(1958-11-29) 29 November 1958

External links

• World Statesmen – Ghana
• Rulers.org – Ghana