The late President of Ghana.

John Atta Mills

President of Ghana
In office
7 January 2009 – 24 July 2012
Vice President John Dramani Mahama
Preceded by John Kufuor
Succeeded by John Dramani Mahama
Vice President of Ghana
In office
7 January 1997 – 7 January 2001
President Jerry Rawlings
Preceded by Kow Nkensen Arkaah
Succeeded by Aliu Mahama
Personal details
Born 21 July 1944
Tarkwa, Gold Coast
(now Ghana)
Died 24 July 2012 (aged 68)
Accra, Ghana
Political party National Democratic Congress
Spouse(s) Ernestina Naaduu
Children Sam Kofi[1]
Alma mater
Website attamills.org
John Evans Fifii Atta Mills[2] (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician who was President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the ruling party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 election.[3] He was vice-president from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and stood unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He is the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office.

Contents

Early life

Mills was born on 21 July 1944 in Tarkwa, in the Western Region of Ghana.[1] He was from the town Ekumfi Otuam and was a member of the Fante people.[4] He was educated at Achimota School, where he completed the Advanced-Level Certificate in 1963, and the University of Ghana, Legon, where he completed a law degree in 1967.[1][5]
Mills studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science and earned a PhD in Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London[6] after completing his doctoral thesis in the field of taxation and economic development. Even during his career in politics he was sometimes called by the nickname "The Prof".[1]

Early career

Mills' first formal teaching assignment was as a lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ghana.[7] He spent close to twenty five years teaching at Legon and other institutions of higher learning.[1] In 1971, he was selected for the Fulbright Scholar programme at Stanford Law School in the US.[6]
He returned to Ghana after receiving his JD to work at his alma mater, the University of Ghana, for 25 years.[1] He became a visiting professor of Temple Law School (Philadelphia, USA), with two stints from 1978 to 1979, and 1986 to 1987, and was a visiting professor at Leiden University (Holland) from 1985 to 1986.[citation needed] During this period, he authored several publications relating to taxation during the 1970s and 1980s.[8]
Outside of his academic pursuits, Professor Mills was the Acting Commissioner of Ghana's Internal Revenue Service from 1986 to 1993 under President Jerry John Rawlings,[1] and the substantive Commissioner from 1993 to 1996. By 1992, he had become an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Ghana.[citation needed]

Politics

Vice-President of Ghana

For the inaugural presidential election in 1992, the National Convention Party (NCP) had formed an alliance with the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Former Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Chairman, and leader of Ghana, Flight-Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings chose the NCP leader, Kow Nkensen Arkaah, as his running-mate for vice-president. Having been elected in the 1992 election, Arkaah served between 1992–1996.[citation needed]
However, on 29 January 1996, the NCP broke with the NDC, merging with the People's Convention Party (PCP) to form a rebirth of the Convention People's Party. Arkaah stood as candidate for the reborn CPP in the 1996 presidential election against Rawlings. Rawlings selected Mills for the vacated Vice-Presidency in his bid for re-election[citation needed] to a second term in the election and was re-elected to his second term in office, serving from 1996 to 2000.

Presidential elections

President Mills featured on a billboard with U.S. President Barack Obama
In 2000, Mills became the NDC's candidate for the 2000 presidential election after Rawlings had served his constitutionally mandated terms as president. The main rival for Mills' own bid for the presidency was John Agyekum Kufuor, who was running as the candidate for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). In the first round, held on 7 December 2000, Mills gained 44.8% of the vote, Kufuor won the first round with 48.4%, thus forcing a second round. On 28 December 2000, Kufuor defeated Mills with 56.9% of the vote and was sworn in as president on 7 January 2001. It was during this time that the term Better Ghana Agenda was coined.
In December 2002, Mills was elected by his party to be its flag bearer and lead them into the 2004 election.[9] He was, however, defeated again by incumbent president John Agyekum Kufuor, who received 52.45% of the vote on the first ballot.
On 21 December 2006, he became the NDC's candidate for the 2008 presidential election, winning his party's ticket by an 81.4% result (1,362 votes), far ahead of his opponents, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, and Eddie Annan.[8][10] In the 2008 election, John Agyekum Kufuor was no longer eligible to run as president, having served two terms. Mills' main opponent from the New Patriotic Party was now Nana Akufo-Addo. Mills ran under the campaign slogal of "A Better Man for a Better Ghana," on a platform of change. He said: "People are complaining. They're saying that their standard of living has deteriorated these past eight years. So if Ghana is a model of growth, it's not translating into something people can feel."[7] The result of the first ballot had Akufo-Addo in front with 49.13% of the vote to Mills' 47.92%, however, a run-off second round of voting was needed. The second round of voting took place on 28 December 2008. The result was a slim lead held by Mills, but due to problems with the distribution of ballots, the Tain constituency, located in the Brong-Ahafo Region, was forced to vote again on 2 January 2009. The final result was a victory by Mills with 50.23% of the vote to Akufo-Addo's 49.77%. Mills became the third president of the 4th Republic Of Ghana.[1]

Presidency

[icon] This section requires expansion. (July 2012)
President Mills on a meeting with the Minister of Development of Brazil, Miguel Jorge
Amongst his accomplishments as president was presiding over and initiating Ghana's first ever oil production.[11] He was also credited for other economic growth in the country during his tenure. A few months prior to his death, he was praised by U.S. President Barack Obama for making Ghana a "good news story" that had good democratic credentials. He also fostered economic ties with China.[12] He was also the first incumbent president to be re-nominated for an election for his party via a primary.[7]

Personal life

First Lady Ernestina Mills, wife of John Atta Mills, with Michelle Obama in 2012
He was married to Ernestina Naadu Mills, an educator, and had a son, Sam Kofi Atta Mills.[1]
He was a good friend to T. B. Joshua, self-proclaimed "prophet" of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria and regularly visited his church. He said, following his inauguration, that Joshua had prophesied that it would take him three elections to win the presidency and that the result would be released in January.[13][14][15]
He contributed to the Ghana Hockey Association, National Sports Council of Ghana and Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club. He enjoyed field hockey and swimming, and once played for the national hockey team (he remained a member of the Veterans Hockey Team until his death).[8][1] He was also a board member of Hearts of Oak and a Manchester United fan.[7]

Selected Writings

Prof. Mills's more than one dozen publications[16] included:
  • Taxation of Periodical or Deferred Payments arising from the Sale of Fixed Capital (1974)
  • Exemption of Dividends from Income Taxation: A Critical Appraisal (1977)
  • Report of the Tax Review Commission, Ghana, parts 1, 2 & 3 (1977)
  • Ghana’s Income Tax Laws and the Investor (1978)

Other activities and projects

Mills was involved in various activities and projects:[8]
  • He was a member of the Ghana Stock Exchange Council.
  • In 1988, he became the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service of Ghana and was named commissioner in September 1996.
  • He also held examiner positions with finance-related institutions in Ghana, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Bankers, and Ghana Tax Review Commission.

Illness and death

He died on 24 July 2012 at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra,[17] three days after his 68th birthday.[18] Though the cause of death was not immediately released, he had been suffering from throat cancer and had recently been to the US for medical reasons.[17] Announcing his death, his office noted that he died hours after being taken ill,[19] but a presidential aide said that he had complained of pains the day prior to his death. According to the BBC, his voice had degenerated in the previous few months. Former minister Elizabeth Ohene said that as a result of previous false reports of his death, she had not believed initial claims of his actual death. "For the past three or four years there's been news he's been unwell and rumours of his death — twice — and he appeared with grim humour to say they were exaggerated, insisting he was well."[17] His vice president John Dramani Mahama was sworn in at about 18:00 GMT on the same day. In accordance with Ghana's constitution, Mahama's tenure will expire at the same time Mills' was due to end, by the end of the year just prior to an election,[20] in which he was due to run.[21] Mahama said upon being inaugurated in parliament:
This is the saddest day in our nation's history. Tears have engulfed our nation and we are deeply saddened and distraught. I never imagined that one day that it would place our nation in such a difficult circumstance. I'm personally devastated, I've lost a father, I've lost a friend, I've lost a mentor and a senior comrade. Ghana is united in grief at this time for our departed president.[12]

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