Jerry Rawlings
Ghanaian military leader and president who ruled for 19 years.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Ghana · see source
He presided over Ghana for 19 years, making him the longest-serving leader in the country's history.[1]
Life and work
Rawlings was born on 22 June 1947 in Accra to a Ghanaian mother from Dzelukope and a Scottish father.[2] He established the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and governed for 112 days before handing power to a civilian government.[3] On 31 December 1981, Rawlings overthrew the democratically elected government through a military coup as chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council.[4] In 1967, Rawlings completed his secondary schooling at Achimota College, and not long after that he enlisted in the Ghana Air Force.[5]
After a court-martial sentenced him to death, Rawlings was freed from detention on 4 June 1979 by fellow soldiers.[3] In 1992, Rawlings left the military, established the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and was victorious in that year's presidential election, becoming the first president of the Fourth Republic.[6] Rawlings won a second term in 1996, which allowed him to serve an additional four years.[6] Rawlings passed away on 12 November 2020 at Accra's Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.[7]
What the cited sources add
The Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation account notes that Rawlings gained civilian sympathy after reading a statement in court explaining the social injustices prompting his attempted coup.[8] The same source reports that Rawlings had seized a small Recce Ferret armored car during the failed uprising.[8] That source also describes the destruction of Makola Number 1 Market as the most spectacular example of the regime's determination to control the market.[9] The IPU archive for the 1996 parliamentary elections reports that Rawlings easily defeated his main rival John Kufuor in the presidential race.[10]
The same archive notes that the ruling NDC won 134 seats, the two-thirds majority required to amend the Constitution.[10] The "Flt.-Lt. (Rtd) Jerry John Rawlings Profile" states that Rawlings carried out a "house-cleaning exercise" aimed at purging the Armed Forces and society of corruption.[2] The "Politics of Reform in Ghana, 1982–1991" account states that Rawlings blamed the country's economic and social problems on some businessmen who "hide through the curtain to dupe the country through trade malpractices".[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Jerry Rawlings" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ghana : History", thecommonwealth; "Rawlings hails frontline health workers", MyJoyOnline., 4 June 2020; "Jerry J. Rawlings head of state, Ghana", Encyclopedia Britannica; Venkatachalam, "Slavery, Memory and Religion in Southeastern Ghana, c. 1850–Present", Cambridge University Press, 2015-08-10, p. 37; Sarpong, "Jerry Rawlings: Remembering Ghana's 'man of the people'", BBC News, 2020-11-13 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Flt.-Lt. (Rtd) Jerry John Rawlings Profile". facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
- Wikipedia, "Jerry Rawlings" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "May 15, 1979: Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings arrested after failed military uprising", Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation; "May 15, 1979: Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings arrested after failed military uprising", Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation; Pike, "Ghana – Rawlings Coup", globalsecurity.; Morrison, "Political Parties in Ghana through Four Republics: A Path to Democratic Consolidation", Comparative Politics, 2004, p. 421–442; Morrison, "Political Parties in Ghana through Four Republics: A Path to Democratic Consolidation", Comparative Politics, en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jerry Rawlings" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Legacy of J.J. Rawlings in Ghanaian Politics, 1979-2000", asq.africa.ufl.edu (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jerry Rawlings" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morrison, "Political Parties in Ghana through Four Republics: A Path to Democratic Consolidation", Comparative Politics, 2004, p. 421–442 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jerry Rawlings" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Flt.-Lt. (Rtd) Jerry John Rawlings Profile"; "Jerry John Rawlings Profile – MyGHPage" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jerry Rawlings" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Breaking News: Jerry John Rawlings is dead", Ghana Web, 12 November 2020; Akorlie, "Jerry Rawlings, Ghana's unlikely democrat, dies at 73", Reuters, 12 November 2020; "Jerry Rawlings: Buhari, Akufo-Addo, world leaders, celebrities react to death of former Ghana leader Jerry Rawlings", BBC News, 12 November 2020; "Jerry Rawlings, Ghana's former president, dies at 73", The East African, 13 November 2020; "Ghana's President Pays Courtesy Visit to Jerry Rawlings' Wife", Arise TV, 13 November 2020; Adebayo, "Former Ghanaian President, Jerry en.wikipedia.org
- "May 15, 1979: Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings arrested after failed military uprising", Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation. facts only, no text reused. eaumf.org
- "The Politics of Reform in Ghana, 1982–1991", publishing.cdlib.org. facts only, no text reused. publishing.cdlib.org
- "GHANA: parliamentary elections Parliament, 1996", archive.ipu.org. facts only, no text reused. archive.ipu.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jerry Rawlings (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Jerry Rawlings (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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