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John Dramani Mahama
TIME OF BIRTH: 12.04pm
PLACE OF BIRTH: DAMONGO
LONG: 1. 8deg W
LAT: 9 N 0deg
TIME ZONE: GMT 0
ASCENDANT: 3 Pisces
SUN SIGN: 6 Sagittarius
MOON SIGN: 11 Cancer
DATE OF BIRTH: 29TH NOVEMBER, 1958
Introduction
John Dramani Mahama, born on November 29, 1958, is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from July 24, 2012, to January 7, 2017. Before assuming the presidency, he held the position of Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, taking office as President following the death of his predecessor, John Evans Fiifi Attah Mills.
Mahama is a communication expert, writer, and historian. He is a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and represented the Bole Bamboi constituency in the Ghanaian Parliament from 1997 to 2009. During this time, he served as Deputy Minister for Communication from 1997 to 1998 and later became the substantive Minister for Communications in 1998.
Born into the Gonja ethnic group in the Savanna Region of Ghana, Mahama's father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, was a prominent figure in Ghanaian politics, serving as the first Member of Parliament for the West Gonja constituency and as the first Regional Commissioner of the Northern Region during Ghana's First Republic under President Kwame Nkrumah.
John Mahama's educational journey took him to Accra Newtown Experimental School, Achimota Primary School, Ghana Secondary School, and the University of Ghana, Legon, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in history in 1981 and a postgraduate diploma in communication studies in 1986. He also pursued further studies in social psychology in Moscow, obtaining a postgraduate degree in 1988.
Before entering politics, Mahama taught history at the secondary school level and worked as the Information, Culture and Research Officer at the Embassy of Japan in Accra. He later joined the anti-poverty NGO Plan International, where he served in various capacities, including International Relations, Sponsorship Communications, and Grants Manager.
Mahama's political career began in 1996 when he was first elected to the Parliament of Ghana to represent the Bole/Bamboi Constituency. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Communications in April 1997 and was promoted to the post of Minister of Communications in November 1998. He continued to serve as a Member of Parliament, being re-elected in 2000 and 2004.
During his tenure as Minister for Communications, Mahama played a crucial role in stabilizing Ghana's telecommunications sector after deregulation in 1997. He was also involved in various international roles, including serving as a member of the Pan-African Parliament, Chairperson of the West African Caucus, and a member of the UNDP Advisory Committee on Conflict Resolution in Ghana.
Mahama's ascent to the presidency came in 2012 when he took office following the death of President John Atta Mills. He was re-elected in the December 2012 general election and served a full term until 2017. However, he lost his bid for re-election in 2016 to Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party.
Throughout his career, Mahama has been active in international affairs, serving as the Chairperson of ECOWAS, Chairperson of the African Union's High-Level African Trade Committee, and co-chair of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocates group. He also played a role in mediating political conflicts in West Africa.
In 2020, Mahama ran for president again but was defeated by Nana Akufo-Addo. In 2023, he won the NDC presidential primary to contest the 2024 General elections.
John Mahama is married to Lordina Mahama and has five children. He is a Christian and a member of the Assemblies of God, Ghana, by marriage, with a multi-faith family. He has a passion for sustainability, environmental issues, and technology in agriculture. Mahama is also an accomplished writer and has authored books and essays on various topics. He has received numerous honors and awards throughout his career for his contributions to Ghana and Africa's political and economic development.
Reference:
JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA
Mahama was born into a politically active family. His father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, served as a member of Parliament as well as a regional commissioner in the government of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah. John Mahama attended primary school at the Achimota School in Accra and attended the Ghana Secondary School in Tamale He received a bachelor’s degree in history. in 1981 from the University of Ghana, Legon, where he also completed postgraduate studies in communication in 1986. Mahama taught high-school history for a few years before pursuing a postgraduate degree in social psychology from the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow, which was awarded in 1988.
After Mahama returned to Ghana, he worked in Accra as the Information, Culture, and Research Officer at the embassy of Japan until 1995. He then worked at the Ghana office of Plan International, a humanitarian and development organization, as the international relation, sponsorship, communication, and grants manager.