Information about Jerry Rawlings

Jerry John Rawlings
Jerry Rawlings Former President Jerry Rawlings Addressing the UN General Assembly
Vice President(s)	Kow Nkensen Arkaah (1993-1997) Prof. John Atta Mills (1997-2001)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Political party	military - AFRC (1979) military PNDC (1981-1993) National Democratic Congress(1993-2001)
Spouse	Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings
Profession	Fighter Pilot
Religion	Catholic

Jerry John Rawlings (born Jeremiah Rawlings John June 22, 1947 in Accra) was twice the head of state of Ghana, a military dictator. He first appeared on the Ghanaian political scene on May 15, 1979 when an unsuccessful coup d'état he led resulted in his arrest, imprisonment, and a death sentence. But before he could be executed, his friends in the Ghana military led by Major Boakye Djan overthrew the then military government of General Fred Akuffo in a bloody coup on June 4, 1979. Major Boakye-Djan and his men also set Rawlings free from prison, and installed him as head of the new government - the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). At the time of the coup, Ghana was already far into the process of returning to civilian rule and general elections were already scheduled. Hence, the AFRC was forced to hand over power to Dr. Hilla Limann who won the popular vote in the election to establish the Third Republic. Less than two years later, Dr. Limann's civilian and constitutional government was overthrown again by Jerry Rawlings on December 31, 1981. He then installed the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime. So in all Jerry Rawlings performed three coups d'etat in Ghana, two of which were successful.

In the early 1990s internal pressures led by a group identified with the Danquah-Busia tradition coupled with external pressures from Ghana's development partners forced the PNDC dictatorship to accept constitutional rule. Rawlings on many platforms professed his hatred for multiparty democracy saying that it was alien to the Ghanaian people. But as elections drew near, he switched from being a military dictator, retired from the military, then run and won in the 1992 elections which the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) claimed was a stolen verdict although international observers judged the elections largely free and fair.

After two terms in office, barred by the constitution from standing in any election, he anointed his vice-president John Atta-Mills as his choice to replace him as President. Ghanaians rejected his choice in the 2000 election by voting for the opposition NPP's candidate, John Kufuor.

Rawlings is married to Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and has four children: three girls and a boy. He is the joint recipient of the 1993 World Hunger Award.

Background

Rawlings was born to the Scottish pharmacist James Ramsay John and his Ghanaian Ewe mistress, Victoria Agbotui. His father had migrated to the then Gold Coast in 1935 with his wife Mary to work for the United Africa Company (UAC). In 1941 he started an affair with Madam Agbotui, then a caterer at the State House in Ghana. The relationship ended in 1947, the same year that Rawlings was born. James John refused to acknowledge Rawlings as his son - right up until his death in 1982.

In order not to let her son lose his Scottish heritage, his mother named him after his father as Jeremiah Rawlings John. This name was later changed to Jerry John Rawlings following a clerical error when the young Rawlings signed up at the Royal Air Force. His mother hoped for a career as a medical doctor for her son and enrolled him at the prestigious Achimota School. However, Rawlings disciplinary problems prevented him from completing his General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level. He later admitted that his mother's strictness was part of what made him a rebellious kid.

He consequently 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. For his advanced flight lessons he was sent to the RAF for training in the early 70s.

Military career

In March, 1968, he was posted to Takoradi in the Western Region to continue his studies. He graduated in January 1969, and was commissioned a Pilot Officer, winning the coveted "Speed Bird Trophy" as the best cadet in flying and airmanship. He earned the rank of Flight Lieutenant in April 1978.

During his service with the Ghanaian Air Force, Rawlings perceived a deterioration of discipline and morale, reflecting the corruption of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) at that time. As promotion brought him into contact with the privileged classes and their social values, his view of the injustices in society hardened. He was thus regarded with some unease by the SMC. He read widely and discussed social and political ideas with a growing circle of like-minded friends and colleagues.

On May 28 1979, Rawlings, together with six others who were arrested earlier, appeared before a General Court Martial in Accra, charged with leading a mutiny of junior officers and enlisted men of the Ghanaian Armed Forces on May 15 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.

Military coup

When he was scheduled for another court appearance on 4 June 1979, Rawlings was sprung from custody.^[] With the support of both the military and civilians, he led a bloody coup that ousted the Supreme Military Council from office and brought the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) to power.

As one of his first acts in power, Rawlings ordered the execution of some former military dictators. Ignatius Kutu Acheamphong, Akwasi Afrifa, and Fred Akuffo were executed. Five other generals—Joy Amedume, Boakye, Roger Felli, Kotei, and Utuka—were also put to death. Rawlings is also rumoured to have been involved in the killings of Supreme Court Justices Kwadjo Agyei Agyepong, Frederick Sarkodie, and Cecilia Koranteng Addo, as well as a military officer, Major Sam Acquah. However, a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Supreme Court Justice G.E.K. Aikins, absolved Rawlings of any involvement.

The AFRC, under the chairmanship of Rawlings, carried out a much wider "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 accountability in public life. This "house-cleaning exercise" included (but not exclusively) very suspicious disappearances of many people who were never seen again. Meanwhile, following a programme already set in motion before the June 4 uprising, the ruling junta organized free general elections. On 24 September 1979, the AFRC handed over power to a civilian government led by the People's National Party (PNP), under President Hilla Limann.

Limann's administration was cut short on 31 December 1981, when Rawlings deposed him in another coup. A Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), composed of both civilian and military members, was established with Rawlings as Chairman. In his second tenure in power, Rawlings' policies became more centrist, and he began to advocate free-market reforms. However, despite the country's economic success, the Ghanaian government was criticized both at home and abroad for committing numerous abuses of human rights.

It is impossible to make a simple value judgment about the presidency of Jerry Rawlings. During his long tenure as head of state his government was accused of human rights abuses including unfair detainment and intimidation. In the early 1990s, the economy of Ghana was still not performing as well as it had in the early 1970s, and ethnic unrest was on the rise. On the other hand, the basic needs of the citizens were being met, many of them by domestic products, and the economy showed steady improvement with guidance from the International Monetary Fund. And Rawlings's reputation on foreign policy received a boost when he acted as a key figure in a mediated peace settlement between factions in nearby Liberia, a nation burdened by five years of civil war. [ [1] JJ Rawlings Website]

Democratic President

Citizens began demanding a more democratic form of government as the 1990s progressed. Rawlings answered this demand by forming a National Commission for Democracy (NCD), empowered to hold regional debates and formulate some suggestions for a transition to multi-party democracy. Although opposition groups complained that the NCD was too closely associated with the PNDC, the commission continued its work through 1991. In March of that year the NCD released a report recommending the election of an executive president, the establishment of a national assembly, and the creation of a prime minister post. The PNDC accepted the report, and the following year Rawlings legalized political parties--with the provision that none could use names that had been used before--and set a timetable for presidential elections.

When these presidential elections were held in 1992, Rawlings stood as the candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the successor party to the PNDC. Although his opponents were given access to television and newspaper coverage--and limits to the freedom of the press had been lifted--no single candidate could match the popularity of the sitting head of state. Election returns on November 3, 1992, revealed that Rawlings had won 58.3 percent of the vote, for a landslide victory. Foreign observers declared the voting to be "free and fair."

Almost immediately, the leaders of the country's opposition parties claimed that the presidential election was not fair, and that widespread abuses had occurred. The leaders encouraged their followers to boycott subsequent parliamentary elections, with the result being that NDC candidates won 189 of 200 seats in the new parliament. Rawlings was therefore accorded a four-year term backed by an elected assembly of supporters for his platform. Answering questions of polling place irregularities, he promised to initiate a new voter registration program to be completed in time for elections in 1996.

Rawlings retired from the Ghanaian Armed Forces on September 14, 1992. He became a member and flag bearer of the NDC. He and the NDC were elected in 1992 and 1996. These victories were decried as fraud-laden by Rawlings' opponents, in the book Stolen Verdict published by the opposition, which chronicles instances of vote rigging and acts of intimidation and fear. Per constitutional mandate, Rawlings' term of office ended in 2001; he retired in 2001 and was succeeded by John Kufuor, his main opponent in the 1996 elections. Kufuor succeeded in defeating Rawlings' vice-president John Atta-Mills in the 2000 vote, and would do so again in 2004.

Although Rawlings did not complete any tertiary education (he completed Achimota Secondary School) and had only an Air Force graduate diploma, he appointed several technocrats such as Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah to important government positions.

"President Rawlings now faces his toughest test yet--that of shedding the image of the radical military dictator and becoming a democratic constitutional ruler able to create a climate of tolerance," Ruby Ofori suggested in Africa Report. In defense of his regime, Rawlings told Africa Report: "It is difficult to be objective without seeming to be rather vain about our achievements and without going into numerous little details. But broadly speaking and allowing for the inevitable teething problems involved in instituting and testing out new systems, we can justifiably claim that among our ordinary men and women there is an increase in confidence, self-respect, and sense of responsibility, as well as a practical understanding of the basic purpose for and machinery of government.... People are no longer intimidated by ... problems, economic, social, or environmental, but are ready to tackle them."

Achievements of the Rawlings regime

• Achieved political and economic stability in a region rife with conflicts (for example Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone).
• Created 110 districts through non-partisan district level elections. Education, infrastructure developments and healthcare all devolved to the district level. Annual government subvention by law goes to the district — unthinkable in many other African countries.
• Absorbed hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians living in Nigeria who were expelled. Housed them at El -Wak stadium in 1983 and then moved them to their family homes. Most other economies, including even advanced ones such as Germany saw their economies suffer when they reunified with integrated citizens (for example German reunification).
• Built first ever memorials to Kwame Nkrumah and W.E.B. DuBois.
• Followed an independent foreign policy (unlike the pro-West policies of the PP and NPP or the pro-East policies of the CPP).
• Returned Ghana to democratic rule in 1992, after a public referendum by a wide majority approved a new constitution. Neither Nigeria, Iraq, Togo, or Côte d'Ivoire were able to achieve this feat (in Nigeria two governments were overthrown during this period).
• Passed the value added tax (VATR of 10%) to secure government revenue base, which today funds most government public expenditures.
• Passed the Ghana Educational Trust Fund (GET Fund) that is today educating millions of Ghanaians.
• First Ghanaian President in 20 years to be received on a state visit of the US.
• Expanded electricity to Northern parts of Ghana - hitherto ignored by ruling elites since 1957.
• Both Bill Clinton and Queen Elizabeth II visited Ghana during Rawlings tenure to highlight the successes of the country.
• The NDC’s agricultural policy and programme 1994-2000 resulted in the recognition of Ghana’s Food Production Index of 148% for 1995-1997 as “the third highest achievement in the record after Jordan (157%) and China (156%) in the World Bank’s “1999-2000 Development Report.?
• Contributed immensely towards dispute resolution and peace keeping in several of the unstable countries in the West African sub-region and beyond.
• The first African military ruler, who gained political legitimacy through the ballot-box and handed over power at the end of his mandate.^[2]

[ [2] JJ Rawlings Website]

Criticisms of the Rawlings regime

• Accusations of torture and murder of people that opposed his regime.
• Jailed dissidents who plotted to overthrow regime.
• Gonda Military barracks was used as a playground for the then-military to do as they please.
• Largely favoured promotion of people from the Ewe tribe into government posts regardless of their abilities to govern, drawing accusations of nepotism.
• The cedi has still not recovered from the lows it reached under his leadership.
• That while the court martial and executions of former Presidents Kutu Acheampong and Akuffu Addo might be understandable, those of Rear Admiral Joy Amedume, Roger Felli, Boakye and Afrifa are believed by some to not be justified.
• Oversaw so-called Public Tribunals, which were criticized for their "disregard of normal juridical procedures".^[1]
• Was sometimes hostile to freedom of the press - though it was also during his regime that the press was privatized and many opposition papers and radio stations grew. Although editors and writers of mainstream papers-such as Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng of The Graphic-were forced to flee as a result of their opposing stance
• Accused of complicity in murder of 3 judges - though independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission headed by Supreme Court Justice G.E.K. Aikins absolved Rawlings of any connections to the killings.
• Maintained relations with Libya's Qadaffi, Burkina Faso's Thomas Sankara and Palestine's Yasser Arafat.

Quotes

• "As one of the few African leaders to resuscitate a collapsed economy, I would have preferred unconditional debt cancellation for all sub-Saharan Africa, with a monitoring system to ensure that the released funds go into basic infrastructure, health, education and provision of good drinking water - and are not deposited in banks in donor countries," Jerry Rawlings, "Africa Needs People Power", The Guardian, July 14 2005.
• "I don't know any law and I don't understand economics, but I know it when my stomach is empty."^[1]
• "I don't fear God, I love him."

References

JJ Rawlings Website

See also

• Rawlings government
• List of Ghana Heads of state by age

External links

• [ http://www.jjrawlings.info JJ Rawlings Website]
• BBC report on Rawlings legacy
• countrydata.com report from 1994
• http://www.answers.com/topic/jerry-rawlings.com

Political offices
Preceded by Fred Akuffo	Head of state of Ghana 1979	Succeeded by Hilla Limann
Preceded by Hilla Limann	Head of state of Ghana 1981–1993	Succeeded by Constitutional Rule
Preceded by Constitutional rule re-established in Ghana	President of Ghana 1993 – 2001	Succeeded by John Kufuor
Preceded by Nicéphore Soglo	Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States 1994 – 1996	Succeeded by Sani Abacha
Party political offices
New title	Leader of the National Democratic Congress 1992 – 2000	Succeeded by John Atta Mills

•  • [ e]      Heads of state of Ghana
* military † interim	Kwame Nkrumah • Joseph Arthur Ankrah *  • Akwasi Afrifa *  • Nii Amaa Ollennu †  • Edward Akufo-Addo • Ignatius Kutu Acheampong *  • Fred Akuffo *  • Jerry Rawlings *  • Hilla Limann • Jerry Rawlings • John Kufuor

Persondata
NAME	Rawlings, Jerry John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	John, Jeremiah Rawlings
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Fighter pilot and former President of Ghana
DATE OF BIRTH	June 22, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH	Accra, Ghana
DATE OF DEATH	Living
PLACE OF DEATH

[ [3] JJ Rawlings Website]