Jerry Rawlings
*Jerry Rawlings was born on this date in 1947. He was a Black Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician.
Jerry John Rawlings was born in Accra, Ghana, to Victoria Agbotui, an Anlo Ewe from Dzelukope, Keta, and James Ramsey John, a British chemist from Scotland. His father never lived with him and his mother and returned to Britain in 1959. Rawlings attended Achimota School and a military academy at Teshie. Rawlings was married to Nana Konadu Agyeman, whom he met in College. They had three daughters and one son. Rawlings finished his secondary education in 1967.
He joined the Ghana Air Force shortly afterward; on his application, the military switched his surname to John and his middle name, Rawlings. 1968, he was posted in Ghana's Western Region to continue his studies. He graduated in January 1969 as a pilot officer, winning the coveted "Speed Bird Trophy" as the best cadet in flying the Su-7 ground attack supersonic jet aircraft as he was skilled in aerobatics. He earned the rank of flight lieutenant in April 1978. During his service with the Ghana Air Force, Rawlings perceived a deterioration in discipline and morale due to corruption in the Supreme Military Council (SMC).
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. Rawlings came to power in Ghana as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force following a bloody coup d'état in 1979 as the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) chairman. Under his military regime, there were numerous human rights abuses. After the 1979 coup, he involved himself with the student community of the University of Ghana, where he developed a more leftist ideology through reading and discussion of social and political ideas.
The 1992 constitution limits a president to two terms, even if they are nonconsecutive. Rawlings did not attempt to amend the document to allow him to run for a third term in 2000. He was the longest-serving leader in Ghana's history, presiding over the country for 19 years. He retired in 2001 and was succeeded by John Kufuor, his main rival and opponent in 1996. It was the first time in Ghanaian history that a sitting government peacefully transferred power to an elected opposition member. In November 2000, Rawlings was named the first International Year of Volunteers 2001 Eminent Person by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, attending various events and conferences to promote volunteerism.
In October 2010, Rawlings was the African Union envoy to Somalia. He was especially interested in the Ghanaian origins of the maroon people. Rawlings delivered lectures at universities in England. In July 2019, he went on a three-day working trip to Burkina Faso as Chairman of the Thomas Sankara Memorial Committee. In September 2019, he led the Ghanaian governmental delegation to the funeral of Robert Mugabe. Rawlings died on November 12, 2020, in Accra. According to some reports, his death was caused by complications from COVID-19. The JJ Rawlings Foundation was named after him and led by his children.
