English
President His Excellency
John Dramani Mahama
John Dramani Mahama is the sixth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. He was also the fourth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, having previously occupied the high office of President between 7 January 2013 and 6 January 2017. Born in 1958 to Mr E. A. Mahama and Madam Abiba Nnaba in Damongo, in the now Savannah Region of Ghana, he made history as Ghana’s first President to serve at all political levels—Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi Constituency, Deputy Minister for Communications, Minister for Communications, Vice-President of the Republic, and President of the Republic. With his resounding victory in the December 2024 elections, President Mahama became the first President in Ghana’s history to be democratically elected to a non-consecutive second term. He is an exemplary family man with strong Christian values, and has been happily married to Lordina Dramani Mahama for over thirty-two years.
Infrastructure Development and Women’s Empowerment
Under President Mahama’s first administration, Ghana witnessed massive infrastructure development across all sectors of the economy, including education, health, ports and harbours, aviation, rail, oil and gas, ICT, and many more. His vision and strategic investments in these areas solidly positioned the country as a Lower-Middle-Income Country for its next development phase.
Beyond investments in socio-economic infrastructure, President Mahama is passionate about investing in people, reflecting his commitment to social justice and equity, particularly through his lauded efforts to advance the interests of girls and women across all spheres. Notably, Ghana attained gender parity in basic education under his leadership. He further demonstrated his commitment to women’s empowerment by appointing several women to prominent roles in his administration. In 2020, he made the ground-breaking decision to nominate Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as his Vice-Presidential candidate—a first for a major political party in Ghana—and repeated this choice in 2024, leading to Ghana welcoming its first female Vice-President.
Continental Leadership and Personal Interests
President Mahama is a former Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and a former Chairperson of the African Union’s High-Level African Trade Committee. He played an instrumental role in laying the foundation for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose secretariat is now hosted in Ghana. He also served as the first Co-chair of the United Nations Advocacy Group on the Sustainable Development Goals and is the current Chair of the TANA Forum, a high-level forum on security in Africa headquartered in Ethiopia.
An avid reader, author, and historian, President Mahama has written for several newspapers and authored numerous publications, including his memoir, My First Coup d’État and Other True Stories from the Lost Decades of Africa. His love for reading and thirst for knowledge are complemented by a strong interest in technology and agriculture—a connection rooted in his upbringing, as his father was a prominent rice farmer, educator, and Minister in Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s administration. He is keen on increasing agricultural productivity and strives to motivate the younger generation to approach farming as a viable and profitable business, particularly by leveraging technology and value addition. In recognition of his sterling contributions as a leader and role model, President Mahama has been conferred with several honorary doctoral degrees from distinguished universities worldwide, including Ekiti State University, Ilorin University, and Igbinedion University in Nigeria; the University of Aberdeen in Scotland; and the Lyon Business School in France.
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