The Profile of H.E John Dramani Mahama.

John Dramani Mahama.

John Dramani Mahama who served as President of the Republic of Ghana between the period, 2012 to 2016 was born on the 29th of November in 1958. 

He is a specialist in communication, a historian, a writer, and a former Member of Parliament, Minister of State, and Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana. As a result of the passing of John Atta Mills on July 24, 2012, he assumed the role of President.

Early years and education

Mr. Mahama was born in the city of Damango, which is located in Ghana's Northern Region. During Ghana's First Republic, his father, Mr. Emmanuel Adama Mahama, served as the first Member of Parliament for the West Gonja Constituency and the first Regional Commissioner of the Northern Region. 

He also served as the first Vice President of Ghana. After finishing that programme with flying colours, Mr. Mahama continued his education by enrolling at the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow to get another postgraduate credential. This time, he focused his studies on social psychology.

Early career

After finishing his schooling, Mr. Mahama went back to Ghana and worked at the Japanese Embassy in Accra as an Information, Culture, and Research Officer from 1991 to 1996. During that time, he was there from 1991 to 1996, he also served as a researcher. After that, he went on to the Ghana Country Office of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) PLAN International, where he served as the International Relations, Sponsorship Communications, and Grants Manager.

POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS

As Member of Parliament

Mr. Mahama was first elected to the Parliament of Ghana in 1996 to represent the Bole/Bamboi Constituency for a period of four years. He is known for being an outspoken advocate for those who do not have the same opportunities as others. 

Mr. Mahama was promoted to the position of Deputy Minister of Communications in April of 1997. By November 1998, he had risen through the ranks to become the substantive Minister of Communications, a position he would continue to hold until January 2001, when the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which had been the ruling party up until that point, handed power over to the government of the New Patriotic Party, which had just been elected. 

Mr. Mahama was successful in his bid to retain his seat as the representative for the Bole/Bamboi Constituency in the general election held in the year 2000. His new tenure would last for a period of four years. In 2004, he won reelection for a third consecutive term in office. 

Mr. Mahama was appointed to the position of Minority Parliamentary Spokesman for Communications in 2001 and served in that capacity until 2004. It was in the year 2002 that he was given the position of Director of Communications for the NDC. 

In the same year, he participated in the monitoring of Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections as a member of the foreign observation team that was chosen for the job.

As Minister

During the time that he served as Minister of Communications, Mr. Mahama was also the Chairman of the National Communications Authority. In this position, he was instrumental in helping to stabilise Ghana's telecommunications industry after it had been deregulated in 1997. 

Mr. Mahama was also a member of the National Economic Management Team, a founding member of the Ghana AIDS Commission, a member of the implementation committee of the 2000 National Population Census, and a deputy chairman of the Publicity Committee for the re-introduction of the Value Added Tax. In addition, Mr. Mahama was a member of the Ghana AIDS Commission. 

He was also a member of the implementation committee of the Value Added Tax (VAT). In 2003, Mr. Mahama became a member of the Pan-African Parliament, where he now serves as the Chairperson of the West African Caucus. This move was part of his ongoing efforts to broaden his interest in and engagement in international politics. 

In addition, in the year 2005, he was assigned to the position of Minority Spokesman for Foreign Affairs. He served in these positions until 2008, when he was selected to become the vice-presidential candidate after being given special consideration for the position.

Presidency

After serving as the caretaker president of the Republic of Ghana for five months, John Dramani Mahama ran for president as the flagbearer of the ruling National Democratic Congress. 

On December 7, 2012, general elections were held, and John Dramani Mahama received 50.70 percent of the total votes cast. As a result, the electoral commission declared him the winner, and the Chief Justice, Justice Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood, swore him in as the lawfully elected leader of the country.

Soon after his inauguration, the opposition New Patriotic Party, led by the 2012 presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and the party chairman Jacob Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, challenge the results of the elections in the well-known election petition suit.

The petition was considered by nine Justices of the Supreme Court, with Justice William Atuguba serving as the Presiding Justice. On August 29, 2013, after a hearing that lasted over eight months, the Supreme Court issued a majority ruling of 5-4 to reject the petition.

John Dramani Mahama will be Ghana's first president whose election has been contested in court and determined by the same body that heard the case. He will also become the fourth elected leader in the fourth republic. In addition to this, he takes over as the nation's leader as the Fourth "John" and is the first President of the Republic to be born after the nation gained its independence.

Family

Mr. Mahama is the father of seven kids. He is a married man, and his wife's name is Mrs. Lordina Mahama. Mr. Mahama prioritises spending time with his family, his church, and his hobbies, despite the fact that he has a very full agenda most of the time. 

He is a Christian who adheres to the belief that it is essential, in a country as religiously varied and politically stable as Ghana, to respect and tolerate the practises of other religions and forms of worship. 

He has a significant interest in environmental issues, in particular the problem of plastic pollution in Africa, which he has dedicated himself to addressing during his time in office as Vice President. He has a deep interest in environmental concerns. Books are one of Mr. Mahama's favourite things to read. 

In addition to that, he is a prolific writer who has had a number of essays published both domestically and abroad. On July 3, 2012, Bloomsbury released his debut book, which was titled My First Coup d'É tat and Other True Stories From the Lost Decades of Africa.

Career highlights

1988: Institute of Social Sciences, Moscow (Postgraduate Studies in Social Psychology) 1991: Worked as: Information officer, Japan Embassy in Republic of Ghana 1995: Sponsorship and Grants Manager, Plan International, Ghana Country Office 1996: Elected, 1st term Member of Parliament for Bole/Bamboi Constituency 1997: Deputy Minister of Communications 1998: Minister of Communications 1998: Acted as Chairman of the National Communications Authority, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications and ICT sector 2000: Elected, 2nd term Member of Parliament for Bole/Bamboi Constituency 2004: Elected, 3rd term Member of Parliament for Bole/Bamboi Constituency 2001: Minority Spokesman for Communications 2005: Minority Spokesman for Foreign Affairs 1997: Member, Appointments Committee of Parliament 1997: Member, Communications Committee of Parliament 1997: Member, Standing Orders Committee of Parliament 2002: Director of Communications NDC 2002: Member, Election observer and monitoring team, Zimbabwe Presidential elections 2004: Member of the Pan-African Parliament Chairman of West African Caucus, Pan-African Parliament Member, Transport, Industry, Energy, Communications, Science and Technology Committee, Pan-African Parliament. Member, European and Pan-African Parliament Ad-hoc Committee on Co-operation.

Articles Written By H.E. Mahama

What Would Fela Think? | The Root | June 2011 Bridge Between Ghana and Black America | The Root | March 2011 Wired For Freedom in Africa | The Root | February 2011 The Politics of Peace | The Huffington Post | January 2011 There's Still Hope for Democracy in Africa | The Root| - December 2010 Seeing Africa With Different Eyes - June 2010.

Source: ghananews.hrforum.uk