Former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings has been reported as dead.
The former president passed on, today, November 12, 2020, after a brief illness.
According to sources, the former President had been on admission at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for about a week for an undisclosed ailment. He was 73.
Mr Rawlings recently lost and buried his mother last month.
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 passed out in January 1969, as a commissioned Pilot Officer. He won the coveted “Speed Bird Trophy” as the best cadet in flying and airmanship.
He earned the rank of Flight-Lieutenant in April 1978. He was an efficient officer with a close rapport with his men.
During his service with the Ghana Air Force, he witnessed the deterioration of discipline and morale, reflecting the corruption of the regime of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) at that time.
As promotion brought him into contact with the privileged classes and their social values, his awareness of the injustices in society was sharpened.
On May 28, 1979, Flt.-Lt. Rawlings, together with six others, appeared before a General Court Martial in Accra, charged with leading a mutiny of junior officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces on 15th May, 1979. There was strong public reaction, especially after his statement had been read in court, explaining the social injustices that had prompted him to act.
The ranks of the Armed Forces, in particular, expressed deep sympathy with his stated aims. When he was scheduled for another court appearance on 4th June, 1979, Flt.-Lt. Rawlings was sprung from custody. With the support of both military and civilians, he led a revolt, which decisively ousted the Supreme Military Council from office and brought the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) into being.
The AFRC, under the chairmanship of Flt.Lt. Rawlings carried out a “house-cleaning exercise” aimed at purging the Armed Forces and society at large of corruption and graft as well as restoring a sense of moral responsibility and the principles of accountability and probity in public life.
Flt-Lt. Rawlings ceased to be a member of the Ghana Armed Forces with effect from September 14, 1992. He formed the National Democratic Congress, 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.
He is the joint recipient of the 1993 World Hunger Prize. He holds an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Medgar Evers College, City University of New York and Lincoln University Doctorate Degree for Diplomacy and Development.
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