Jerry Rawlings

Jerry John Rawlings was a major leader in Ghana. He served the country for 19 years. He was a military officer and a pilot. He was also a politician who became president. His life changed the way Ghana was run. He remains one of the longest-serving leaders in the nation's history.

Rawlings grew up in Accra, the capital of Ghana. His father was a British chemist named James Ramsey John. His mother was Victoria Agbotui. He went to Achimota School and a military academy in Teshie. Later, he joined the Ghana Air Force. He became a very skilled pilot. He even won the Speed Bird Trophy for flying fast jets.

Rawlings wanted to change how the government worked. He felt the leaders were being unfair and corrupt. In 1979, he led a coup to take control. A coup is when the military takes over a government. He led a group called the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. This group ruled for 112 days. During this time, several military officers were executed. He later gave power back to a civilian leader named Hilla Limann.

In 1981, Rawlings took control of the country again. He led a group called the Provisional National Defence Council. He wanted to fix the economy and stop corruption. He made new rules for how goods were traded. These rules were hard on many people in the countryside. In 1992, he helped create a new constitution. This allowed Ghana to have many political parties again. He started his own party called the National Democratic Congress.

Rawlings won the 1992 election with 60% of the votes. He served two terms as the elected president. He also helped other countries find peace. For example, he helped stop fighting in the Liberian Civil War in 1995. Later, he worked as an envoy for the African Union in Somalia. He died in 2020 at the age of 73. The country gave him a state funeral to honor him.