schema:articleBody
| - Ghana's former leader Jerry Rawlings, who towered over the West African nation for two decades first as military ruler and then as elected president, has died aged 73, his party said Thursday. The National Democratic Congress candidate for upcoming elections, John Mahama, wrote on Twitter that he was suspending campaigning "following news of the passing of our Founder and former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings". "May his soul Rest In Peace," Mahama, a former president of Ghana, said. There were no further details given by officials on the cause of his death. A former air force flight lieutenant, Rawlings twice overthrew governments through coups in 1979 and 1981 and stamped his authority on the nation of 30 million with an uncompromising reputation before ushering in democracy. The son of a Scottish father and Ghanaian mother, the charismatic leader became a national icon as he headed Ghana for 20 years until 2001, being voted in as president at the ballot box in 1992 and reelected in 1996. str-del/ach
|