Nairaland Forum

Following the death of President John Atta Mills of the Republic of Ghanathe country's parliament has the responsibility to meet in an emergency session with a view to approving the emergence and swearing in of the Vice President.

As a result of the constitutional provision, the new president of Ghana is John Dramani Mahama, who was the vice president to late President Mills.

Below is a brief profile of Ghana's new president....

John Dramani Mahama was born at Bole Bamboi in the Northern Region on the 29th November, 1958. He is married to Mrs Lordina Mahama and has seven children.

He obtained a BA Degree in History from University of Ghana in 1981. In 1986, John Mahama obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies at the University of Ghana. He also undertook further Postgraduate Studies in Social Psychology at the Institute of Social Sciences, Russia, in 1988.

Mr. Mahama was employed as an Information Officer at the Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Ghana from 1991 to 1995. He moved on to join the non-governmental organisation, Plan International, as Sponsorship and Grants Manager in the Ghana Country Office from 1995 to 1996.

He was elected to his first term as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bole-Bamboi Constituency in the Northern Region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in December 1996. Mr. Mahama served as Deputy Minister of Communications from April 1997 to November 1998 and then served as the substantive Minister of Communications from November 1998 to January 2001.

Mr. Mahama was re-elected MP for Bole-Bamboi Constituency in December 2000 and in December 2004. He served as Director of Communication for the NDC as well as Spokesman on Communications for the Minority in Parliament between 2001 and 2004.

From 2005 to date Mr. Mahama has been Minority Parliamentary Spokesman for Foreign Affairs. He has been a Member of the Pan African Parliament based in Pretoria, South Africa from 2004 to date where he served as the Chairman of the West African Caucus.

On Wednesday, January 7, 2009, Hon. John Dramani Mahama was sworn into office as the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana.