List of heads of state of Ghana

This is a list of the heads of state of Ghana, from the independence of Ghana in 1957 to the present day.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

From 1957 to 1960 the head of state under the Constitution of 1957 was the queen of Ghana, Elizabeth II, who was also the monarch of other Commonwealth realms.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The monarch was represented in Ghana by a governor-general.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ghana became a republic within the Commonwealth under the Constitution of 1960 and the monarch and governor-general were replaced by an executive president.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Monarch (1957–1960)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Reign			Royal House	Prime minister
			Reign start	Reign end	Duration
1	File:Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (3x4 close cropped).jpg	Queen Elizabeth II Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1957	Template:Nowrap 1960	Template:Ayd	Windsor	Nkrumah

Governor-general

The governor-general was the representative of the monarch in Ghana and exercised most of the powers of the monarch.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The governor-general was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since Ghana was granted independence by the Ghana Independence Act 1957, rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous Dominion and later promoted to independence by the Statute of Westminster 1931,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> the governor-general was to be always appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Ghana without the involvement of the British government, with the sole exception of Charles Arden-Clarke, the former colonial governor, who served as governor-general temporarily until he was replaced by William Hare.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In the event of a vacancy the chief justice served as officer administering the government.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Status

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Term of office			Monarch	Prime minister
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-43-9 - crop.jpg	Sir Charles Arden-Clarke Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1957	Template:Nowrap 1957	Template:Ayd	Elizabeth II	Nkrumah
—	File:Sir-Kobina-Arku-Korsah.jpg	Sir Kobina Arku Korsah Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1957	Template:Nowrap 1957	Template:Ayd
2	File:No image.png	William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1957	Template:Nowrap 1960	Template:Ayd

Republic (1960–present)

Political parties

Other factions

Status

Symbols

Template:Note label Constitutional referendum

Template:Note label Died in office

First Republic (1960–1966)

Under the Constitution of 1960, the first constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the president replaced the monarch as executive head of state.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The president was elected by Parliament for a 5-year term. In the event of a vacancy three members of the Cabinet served jointly as acting president.

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Elected	Term of office			Political party
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 1	File:Kwame Nkrumah (JFKWHP-AR6409-A).jpg	Kwame Nkrumah Template:Small	1960 Template:Text	Template:Nowrap 1960	Template:Nowrap 1966 Template:Small	Template:Ayd	CPP

Military rule (1966–1969)

Lieutenant-General Joseph Arthur Ankrah led a coup d'état which overthrew President Nkrumah and his government, all political parties and Parliament were also dissolved.

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Term of office			Political party
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 2	File:Joseph Arthur Ankrah in America (cropped).jpg	[[Joseph Arthur Ankrah|Template:Small Joseph Arthur Ankrah]] Template:Small Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1966	Template:Nowrap 1969 Template:Small	Template:Ayd	Military
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 3	File:No image.png	[[Akwasi Afrifa|Template:Small Akwasi Afrifa]] Template:Small Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1969	Template:Nowrap 1969	Template:Ayd

Second Republic (1969–1972)

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Elected	Term of office			Political party	Prime minister
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | Template:Small	File:No image.png	[[Akwasi Afrifa|Template:Small Akwasi Afrifa]] Template:Small Template:Small	—	Template:Nowrap 1969	Template:Nowrap 1970	Template:Ayd	Military	Busia
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | —	File:No image.png	Nii Amaa Ollennu Template:Small	—	Template:Nowrap 1970	Template:Nowrap 1970	Template:Ayd	Independent
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 4	File:No image.png	Edward Akufo-Addo Template:Small	—	Template:Nowrap 1970	Template:Nowrap 1972 Template:Small	Template:Ayd	Independent

Military rule (1972–1979)

General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a coup d'état which overthrew President Akufo-Addo, Prime Minister Abrefa Busia and his government, all political parties, and Parliament were also dissolved.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Lieutenant General Fred Akuffo led a palace coup which overthrew General Acheampong,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> then Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a coup d'état which overthrown the Supreme Military Council.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Term of office			Political party
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 5	File:Ignatius Kutu Acheampong illustration.png	[[Ignatius Kutu Acheampong|Template:Small Ignatius Kutu Acheampong]] Template:Small Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1972	Template:Nowrap 1978 Template:Small	Template:Ayd	Military
Template:Small
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 6	File:Fred Akuffo illustration.png	[[Fred Akuffo|Template:Small Fred Akuffo]] Template:Small Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1978	Template:Nowrap 1979 Template:Small	Template:Ayd
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 7	File:Fmr Prez. Rawlings (cropped).jpg	[[Jerry Rawlings|Template:Small Jerry Rawlings]] Template:Small Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1979	Template:Nowrap 1979	Template:Ayd

Third Republic (1979–1981)

Under the Constitution of 1979 the president was head of both state and government. The president was directly elected and served a four-year term that expired at the next general election; a president might serve a maximum of two terms.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the event of a vacancy the vice-president served as acting president.<ref name="Nketia 2001">Template:Citation</ref>

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Elected	Term of office			Political party
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 8	File:Hilla Limann.jpg	Hilla Limann Template:Small	1979	Template:Nowrap 1979	Template:Nowrap 1981 Template:Small	Template:Ayd	PNP

Military rule (1981–1993)

Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a coup d'état which overthrew President Limann and his government, all political parties and Parliament were also dissolved.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Term of office			Political party
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 9	File:JJ Rawlings in Brussels 1998 (P002554000101, cropped).jpg	[[Jerry Rawlings|Template:Small Jerry Rawlings]] Template:Small Template:Small	Template:Nowrap 1981	Template:Nowrap 1993	Template:Ayd	Military

Fourth Republic (1993–present)

Under the current Constitution the president is head of both state and government.<ref name="Nketia 2001"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The president is directly elected and serves a four-year term that expires at the next general election; a president may serve a maximum of two terms. In the event of a vacancy, the vice president serves the remaining time as the president.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Elected	Term of office			Political party
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | Template:Small	File:Jerry Rawlings visits AMISOM 02 (6874167713) (cropped).jpg	Jerry Rawlings Template:Small	1992 1996	Template:Nowrap 1993	Template:Nowrap 2001	Template:Age in years years	NDC
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 10	File:John Kufuor 080915-A-8817J-090.JPG	John Kufuor Template:Small	2000 2004	Template:Nowrap 2001	Template:Nowrap 2009	Template:Age in years years	NPP
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 11	File:John Atta Mills (cropped) (2).jpg	John Atta Mills Template:Small	2008	Template:Nowrap 2009	Template:Nowrap 2012Template:Ref label	Template:Ayd	NDC
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 12	File:John Dramani Mahama 2014 (cropped).jpg	John Mahama Template:Small	2012	Template:Nowrap 2012	Template:Nowrap 2017	Template:Ayd	NDC
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 13	File:Nana Akufo Addo, Jan. 2020.jpg	Nana Akufo-Addo Template:Small	2016 2020	Template:Nowrap 2017	Template:Nowrap 2025	Template:Age in years years	NPP
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 14	File:John Dramani Mahama Nov2016 (cropped).jpg	John Mahama Template:Small	2024	Template:Nowrap 2025	Incumbent	Template:Ayd	NDC

Timeline since 1960

<timeline> ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:21 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:120 left:20 AlignBars = late

Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}

Colors =

 id:ind value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.8)    legend:None_(Independent)
 id:mil value:rgb(0.76,0.69,0.57) legend:Military
 id:cpp value:rgb(0.81,0.07,0.15) legend:Convention_People's_Party
 id:pnp value:rgb(0.89,0.2,0.18)  legend:People's_National_Party
 id:ndc value:rgb(0.04,0.39,0.21) legend:National_Democratic_Congress
 id:npp value:rgb(0.04,0.18,0.48) legend:New_Patriotic_Party

 id:gray1  value:gray(0.85)
 id:gray2  value:gray(0.95)

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1960 till:31/12/{{#expr:{{#time:Y}}+1}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1960 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1960

Legend = columns:1 left:150 top:35 columnwidth:170

TextData =

 pos:(20,38) textcolor:black fontsize:M
 text:"Political party:"

BarData =

bar:Nkrumah
bar:Ankrah
bar:Afrifa
bar:Ollennu
bar:EdwardAkufo-Addo
bar:Acheampong
bar:Akuffo
bar:Rawlings
bar:Limann
bar:Kufuor
bar:Mills
bar:Mahama
bar:NanaAkufo-Addo

PlotData =

 width:5 align:left fontsize:9 shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

bar:Nkrumah
 from: 01/07/1960 till: 24/02/1966 color:cpp text:"Kwame Nkrumah"
bar:Ankrah
 from: 24/02/1966 till: 02/04/1969 color:mil text:"Joseph Arthur Ankrah"
bar:Afrifa
 from: 02/04/1969 till: 07/08/1970 color:mil text:"Akwasi Afrifa"
bar:Ollennu
 from: 07/08/1970 till: 31/08/1970 color:ind text:"Nii Amaa Ollennu (acting)"
bar:EdwardAkufo-Addo
 from: 31/08/1970 till: 13/01/1972 color:ind text:"Edward Akufo-Addo"
bar:Acheampong
 from: 13/01/1972 till: 05/07/1978 color:mil text:"Ignatius Kutu Acheampong"
bar:Akuffo
 from: 05/07/1978 till: 04/06/1979 color:mil text:"Fred Akuffo"
bar:Rawlings
 from: 04/06/1979 till: 24/09/1979 color:mil
 from: 31/12/1981 till: 28/07/1992 color:mil
 from: 28/07/1992 till: 07/01/2001 color:ndc text:"Jerry Rawlings"
bar:Limann
 from: 24/09/1979 till: 31/12/1981 color:pnp text:"Hilla Limann"
bar:Kufuor
 from: 07/01/2001 till: 07/01/2009 color:npp text:"John Kufuor"
bar:Mills
 from: 07/01/2009 till: 24/07/2012 color:ndc text:"John Atta Mills"
bar:Mahama
 from: 24/07/2012 till: 07/01/2017 color:ndc
 from: 07/01/2025 till: $today     color:ndc text:"John Mahama"
bar:NanaAkufo-Addo
 from: 07/01/2017 till: 07/01/2025 color:npp text:"Nana Akufo-Addo"

</timeline>

Term of office in years

This is a list of each head of state in order of term length.

Of the 12 post monarchy heads of state, only two, Jerry Rawlings and John Mahama, served in two non consecutive periods.

Rank	Head of State	Political party	Longest continuous term	Total time in office	Periods	Cause of end of term
1	Jerry Rawlings	Military/National Democratic Congress	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	2	Resignation/Natural expiration
2	John Kufuor	New Patriotic Party	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Natural expiration
	Nana Akufo-Addo	New Patriotic Party	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Natural expiration
4	Ignatius Kutu Acheampong	Military	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Deposed
5	Kwame Nkrumah	Convention People's Party	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Deposed
6	John Mahama	National Democratic Congress	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	2	Natural expiration/In office
7	John Atta Mills	National Democratic Congress	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Death
8	Joseph Arthur Ankrah	Military	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Resignation
9	Hilla Limann	People's National Party	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Deposed
10	Edward Akufo-Addo	Independent	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Deposed
11	Akwasi Afrifa	Military	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1
12	Fred Akuffo	Military	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1	Deposed
–	Nii Amaa Ollennu	Independent	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Age in years and days	1

Standards

• File:Flag of the Governor-General of Ghana (1957-1960).svg
  Governor-General's standard
• File:Presidential Standard of Ghana.svg
  Presidential standard

Demographics

Head of state	Ethnicity	Religious affiliation
Kwame Nkrumah	Nzema (Akan)	Roman Catholic (later Nondenominational Christian)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Joseph Ankrah	Ga	Methodist
Akwasi Afrifa	Ashanti (Akan)	Anglican
Nii Amaa Ollennu	Ga	Presbyterian
Edward Akufo-Addo	Akuapem (Akan)	Presbyterian
Kofi Abrefa Busia	Bono (Akan)	Methodist
Ignatius Kutu Acheampong	Ashanti (Akan)	Roman Catholic
Fred Akuffo	Akuapem (Akan)	Presbyterian
Hilla Limann	Sissala	Roman Catholic
Jerry John Rawlings	Scottish/Anlo Ewe	Roman Catholic
John Agyekum Kufuor	Ashanti (Akan)	Roman Catholic
John Atta Mills	Fante (Akan)	Methodist
John Dramani Mahama	Gonja	Assemblies of God (raised Presbyterian)
Nana Akufo-Addo	Akuapem/Akyem (Akan)	Anglican (raised Presbyterian)

External links

• World Statesmen – Ghana
• Rulers.org – Ghana