John Mahama

John Dramani Mahama
President of Ghana
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 July 2012
Preceded by	John Atta Mills
Vice President of Ghana
In office 7 January 2009 – 24 July 2012
President	John Atta Mills
Preceded by	Aliu Mahama
Succeeded by	TBA
Minister of Communications
In office November 1998 – 7 January 2001
President	Jerry Rawlings
Preceded by	Ekwow Spio-Garbrah
Succeeded by	Felix Owusu-Adjapong
Member of Parliament for Bole
In office 7 January 1997 – 7 January 2009
Preceded by	Mahama Jeduah
Succeeded by	Joseph Akati Saaka
Personal details
Born	(1958-11-29) 29 November 1958 Damongo, Ghana
Political party	National Democratic Congress
Spouse	Lordina Mahama
Residence	Osu Castle
Alma mater	University of Ghana
Website	Presidency website

John Dramani Mahama /məˈhɑːmə/ (born 29 November 1958) is the fourth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. He succeeded John Atta Mills to the presidency following Mills' death on 24 July, 2012. Prior to becoming President of Ghana, he was a communication expert, historian, writer, Member of Parliament, Minister of State, and Vice-President of Ghana.

Early years

Mahama was born in Damongo, found in the Damango-Daboya constituency of Ghana. His father Emmanuel Adama Mahama was the first Member of Parliament for the West Gonja Constituency and the first Regional Commissioner of the Northern Region during Ghana's First Republic.

He attended the University of Ghana, receiving a bachelor's degree in history in 1981 and a postgraduate degree in communication studies in 1986. Following this, Mahama traveled to the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow, Soviet Union for further studies.

Early career

After completing his education, Mahama returned to Ghana and, from 1991 to 1996, he worked as the Information, Culture and Research Officer at the Embassy of Japan in Accra.

From there he moved to the nongovernmental agency (NGO) PLAN International's Ghana Country Office, where he worked as International Relations, Sponsorship Communications and Grants Manager.

Political appointments

As Member of Parliament

An eloquent champion of the underprivileged, Mahama was first elected to the Parliament of Ghana in 1996 to represent the Bole/Bamboi Constituency for a four-year term. In April 1997, Mr. Mahama was appointed Deputy Minister of Communications. He rose to become the substantive Minister of Communications by November 1998; it was a position he held until January 2001 when the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was the current ruling party, handed over power to the newly elected New Patriotic Party's government.

In 2000, Mahama was re-elected for another four-year term as the Member of Parliament for the Bole/Bamboi Constituency. He was again re-elected in 2004 for a third term. From 2001 to 2004, Mahama served as the Minority Parliamentary Spokesman for Communications. In 2002, he was appointed the Director of Communications for the NDC. That same year, he served as a member of the team of international observers selected to monitor Zimbabwe's Parliamentary Elections.

As minister

During his tenure as Minister of Communications, Mahama also served as the Chairman of the National Communications Authority, in which capacity he played a key role in stabilising Ghana's telecommunications sector after it was deregulated in 1997. Mahama also served as a member of the National Economic Management Team, a founding member of the Ghana AIDS Commission, a member of the implementation committee of the 2000 National Population Census and a deputy chairman of the Publicity Committee for the re-introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

Continuing to expand his interest and involvement in international affairs, in 2003 Mr. Mahama became a member of the Pan-African Parliament, serving as the Chairperson of the West African Caucus. In 2005 he was, additionally, appointed the Minority Spokesman for Foreign Affairs.

On January 7, 2009, Mahama became the Vice-President of Ghana.

As President

In line with Ghana's constitution, Mahama became the President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana on July 24, 2012 upon the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills.

Personal Life and Interests

He is married to Lordina Mahama, with whom he has seven children. He is a Christian. He has a keen interest in environmental affairs, particularly the problem of plastic pollution in Africa, which he committed himself to addressing during his tenure as Vice President.

Books

His first book, My First Coup d'État and Other True Stories From the Lost Decades of Africa, was published by Bloomsbury on July 3, 2012.