Late former President of Ghana Mr Jerry Rawlings
Former President of Ghana Mr Jerry Rawlings is dead. Reports coming from Ghana said the former President died on Thursday during an illness suspected to be the dreaded coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra, Ghana. He was aged 73 years.
According to Ghanaweb, an authoritative news agency in Ghana, disclosed the death of Rawlings, although it said details of the former president’s death are still sketchy but his death is already making headlines among to news mediums across Africa and beyond. It was only last month on October 24, 2020 that the former president buried his mother who died at the age of 104. Jerry John Rawlings was born in Accra on 22nd June 1947, to a Ghanaian mother from Dzelukope, near Keta, in the Volta Region, and a Scottish father.
He was educated at Achimota School where he obtained his General Certificate of Education ‘O’ Level in 1966. He enlisted as a Flight Cadet in the Ghana Air Force in August 1967 and was subsequently selected for officer cadet training at the Ghana Military Academy and Training School, Teshie, in Accra. In March 1968, he was posted to Takoradi in the Western Region to continue his course.
On December 31, 1981, Flt. Lt. Rawlings led a section of the Armed Forces to overthrow the Peoples National Party (PNP) administration. A Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), composed of both civilian and military members, was established, with Rawlings as the Chairman. Rawlings ceased to be a member of the Ghana Armed Forces with effect from September 14, 1992. He formed the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which contested and won the 1992 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. He and the party again won the 1996 elections. His term of office ended in the year 2000.
