Former President of Ghana Jerry John Rawlings died Thursday morning [November 12, 2020] at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) aged 73.
Mr Rawlings had been on admission at Korle Bu for about a week for an undisclosed ailment, although some reports said it might be COVID-19.
Reports said he felt sick after his mother’s burial about three weeks ago.
Mr Rawlings was born on June 22, 1947. His mother, Madam Victorial Agbotui died in September 2020 at age 101 and was buried on October 24, 2020, the last time that Mr Rawlings was seen in public.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has directed that all national flags should fly at half-mast for the next seven days in honour of the memory of former President Jerry John Rawlings.
In a statement announcing the passing of former President Rawlings, President Akufo-Addo said he, together with the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia have suspended their political campaigns for the same period.
The President, in his statement expressed sympathies to former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, her children and the family of the late President.
President Akufo-Addo said government would work closely with the family of President Rawlings on the arrangements for a fitting State Funeral and would keep the nation informed accordingly.
The President has also declared seven days of national mourning from Friday, November 13 to Friday, November 20 in honour of the late Rawlings.
Mr Rawlings’ father was Scottish whilst his mother was Ghanaian.
Mr Rawlings, as a military man, led an unsuccessful coup d’état against the ruling military government on May 15, 1979.
He was arrested and detained. Whilst in detention, his compatriots organised themselves and released him. They succeeded in the second coup attempt on June 4, 1979.
He and his compatriots supervised elections in 1979 and handed over power to Dr Hilla Limann who was elected President in the 3rd Republic.
However, on December 31, 1981, Mr Rawlings in a U-turn ousted Dr Limann’s government and as the Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), he ruled Ghana till January 6, 1993.
He resigned from the military as a Flight Lieutenant and was democratically elected President of Ghana from January 7, 1993 to January 6, 2001 after being re-elected in 1996.
He handed over to former President John Agyekum Kufour after his two-term limit of eight years in office – four years per term.
Before his election as President, Mr Rawlings resigned from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and founded the National Democratic Congress (NDC), a political party on whose ticket he was elected as the first President of the 4th Republic of Ghana for two terms in office, Jan 7, 1993 to Jan 6, 1997 and Jan 7, 1997 to Jan 6, 2001.