The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Ghana

This page contains a list of the greatest Ghanaian Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 14 of which were born in Ghana. This makes Ghana the birth place of the 123rd most number of Politicians behind Niger, and Chad.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ghanaian Politicians of all time. This list of famous Ghanaian Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ghanaian Politicians.

1. Kwame Nkrumah (1909 - 1972)

With an HPI of 68.87, Kwame Nkrumah is the most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 133 different languages on wikipedia.

Francis Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained independence from Britain. He was then the first Prime Minister and then the President of Ghana, from 1957 until 1966. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962. After twelve years abroad pursuing higher education, developing his political philosophy, and organizing with other diasporic pan-Africanists, Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast to begin his political career as an advocate of national independence. He formed the Convention People's Party, which achieved rapid success through its unprecedented appeal to the common voter. He became Prime Minister in 1952 and retained the position when Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957. In 1960, Ghanaians approved a new constitution and elected Nkrumah President. His administration was primarily socialist as well as nationalist. It funded national industrial and energy projects, developed a strong national education system and promoted a pan-Africanist culture. Under Nkrumah, Ghana played a leading role in African international relations during the decolonization period. After multiple failed attempts on his life, coupled with increasingly difficult local economic conditions, Nkrumah's government became authoritarian in the 1960s, as he repressed political opposition and conducted elections that were neither free nor fair. In 1964, a constitutional amendment made Ghana a one-party state, with Nkrumah as president for life of both the nation and its party. He fostered a personality cult, forming ideological institutes and adopting the title of 'Osagyefo Dr.' Nkrumah was deposed in 1966 in a coup d'état by the National Liberation Council, under whose supervision the country's economy was privatized. Nkrumah lived the rest of his life in Guinea, where he was named honorary co-president.

2. Nana Akufo-Addo (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 60.92, Nana Akufo-Addo is the 2nd most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 66 different languages.

William Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( a-KUUF-oh ah-DOH; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the 13th president of Ghana since 2017. He previously served as Attorney General from 2001 to 2003 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 under the administration of then-president John Kufuor. Akufo-Addo first ran for president in the year 2008 and again in 2012, both times as the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He lost on both occasions to National Democratic Congress' candidates: John Evans Atta Mills in 2008 and John Dramani Mahama in 2012. After the 2012 general elections, he refused to concede and proceeded to court to challenge the electoral results, but the Supreme Court of Ghana affirmed Mahama's victory. He was chosen as the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party for a third time for the 2016 general elections, and this time he defeated incumbent John Dramani Mahama in the first round (winning with 53.85% of the votes), which marked the first time in a Ghanaian presidential election that an opposition candidate won a majority outright in the first round. It was also the first time that an opposition candidate had unseated an incumbent president. He again secured an outright majority in the first round of the 2020 general elections (winning with 51.59% of the vote), defeating Mahama for a second time. Akufo-Addo's government initially drew broad popularity from the Ghanaian public, promoting a nationalistic 'Ghana beyond aid' agenda. The latter part of his tenure, however, been marred by the worst financial crises in a generation, with inflation reaching up to 40% in both 2022 and 2023. His government has attributed this to the Russo-Ukrainian War and the COVID-19 pandemic, but many observers point to mismanagement of public funds.

3. Sylvanus Olympio (1902 - 1963)

With an HPI of 59.13, Sylvanus Olympio is the 3rd most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Sylvanus Épiphanio Olympio (French pronunciation: [silvany epifanjo ɔlɛ̃pjo]; 6 September 1902 – 13 January 1963) was a Togolese politician who served as prime minister, and then president, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963. He came from the important Olympio family, which included his uncle Octaviano Olympio, one of the richest people in Togo in the early 1900s. After graduating from the London School of Economics, he worked for Unilever and became the general manager of the African operations of that company. After World War II, Olympio became prominent in efforts for independence of Togo and his party won the 1958 election, making him the prime minister of the country. His power was further cemented when Togo achieved independence and he won the 1961 election, making him the first president of Togo. He was assassinated during the 1963 Togolese coup d'état.

4. Jerry Rawlings (1947 - 2020)

With an HPI of 55.44, Jerry Rawlings is the 4th most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 52 different languages.

Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 1947 – 12 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1993, and then served two terms as the democratically elected president of Ghana. He was the longest-serving leader in Ghana's history, presiding over the country for 19 years. Rawlings came to power in Ghana as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force following a coup d'état in 1979. Prior to that, he led an unsuccessful coup attempt against the ruling military government on Tuesday, 15 May 1979, just five weeks before scheduled democratic elections were due to take place. After handing power over to a civilian government, he overthrew the democratically elected Government through a military coup on Thursday, 31 December 1981 as the chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). In 1992, Rawlings resigned from the military, founded the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and became the first president of the Fourth Republic. Rawlings brokered a ceasefire in 1995 during the First Liberian Civil War. He was re-elected in 1996 for four more years. After two terms in office, the limit according to the Ghanaian Constitution, Rawlings endorsed his vice-president John Atta Mills as a presidential candidate in 2000. Rawlings served as the African Union envoy to Somalia. He died in 2020 at age 73 and was accorded a state funeral. Rawlings is seen as a transformative leader in the history of Ghana, and is credited with leading the country through economic recovery and returning national pride to the country, along with turning Ghana into a multi-party democracy. Rawlings has been described as one of Ghana's greatest leaders, and as the "transcendent African political figure of his generation".

5. John Atta Mills (1944 - 2012)

With an HPI of 53.95, John Atta Mills is the 5th most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 63 different languages.

John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 Ghanaian presidential election. He was previously the Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and he contested unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office.

6. John Kufuor (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 50.91, John Kufuor is the 6th most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 56 different languages.

John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was a Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008 and his victory over John Evans Atta Mills at the end of Jerry Rawlings' second term marked the first transition of power in Ghana from a democratic party to another democratic party. Kufuor's career has been spent on the liberal-democratic side of Ghanaian politics, in the parties descended from the United Gold Coast Convention and the United Party. As a lawyer and businessman, he was a minister in Kofi Abrefa Busia's Progress Party government during Ghana's Second Republic, and a Popular Front Party opposition frontbencher during the Third Republic. In the Fourth Republic, Kufuor stood as the New Patriotic Party's candidate at the 1996 election, and then led it to victory in 2000 and 2004. Having served two terms in power, he retired from politics in 2008. He is popularly known as the Gentle Giant.

7. Joseph Arthur Ankrah (1915 - 1992)

With an HPI of 49.04, Joseph Arthur Ankrah is the 7th most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Joseph Arthur Ankrah (18 August 1915 – 25 November 1992) was a Ghanaian army general who was the second head of state of Ghana from 1966 to 1969 as chairman of the National Liberation Council. He was Ghana's first military head of state. Ankrah also served as the fourth chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 24 February 1966 to 5 November 1966. Previously, Ankrah was appointed the first commander of the Ghana Army in 1961.

8. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (1931 - 1979)

With an HPI of 47.18, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong is the 8th most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Ignatius Kutu Acheampong ( ə-CHAM-PONG; 23 April 1931 – 16 June 1979) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who was the military head of state of Ghana from 13 January 1972 to 5 July 1978, when he was deposed in a palace coup. He was executed by firing squad on 16 June 1979.

9. John Mahama (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 46.31, John Mahama is the 9th most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 64 different languages.

John Dramani Mahama ( ; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician, and the president-elect of Ghana, having won the 2024 Ghanaian general election. He will be inaugurated as President of Ghana on 7 January 2025. John Mahama previously served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017 and Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012. He took office as president on 24 July 2012, following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills. A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mahama was Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi from 1997 to 2009 and served as Deputy Minister for Communication between 1997 and 1998 before becoming the substantive Minister for Communications in 1998. Mahama is the first vice president to assume the presidency following the death of his predecessor, and is the first head of state of Ghana to have been born after Ghana's independence in 1957. He was elected in the December 2012 election to serve a full-term as president. He contested re-election for a second term in the 2016 election, but lost to the New Patriotic Party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo. This made him the first president in the history of Ghana to not have won a consecutive second term. Mahama was again the NDC's candidate for president in the 2020 election, where he lost to Akufo-Addo. He was re-elected president in the 2024 election, defeating the incumbent vice president Mahamudu Bawumia, making him the first president in Ghanaian history to be democratically elected to a non-consecutive second term.

10. Fred Akuffo (1937 - 1979)

With an HPI of 45.71, Fred Akuffo is the 10th most famous Ghanaian Politician. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Lieutenant General Frederick William "Fred" Kwasi Akuffo (21 March 1937 – 26 June 1979) was a Ghanaian soldier and politician. He was Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces from 1976 to 1978, and chairman of the ruling Supreme Military Council in Ghana from 1978 to 1979. He became leader of the government in a palace coup against General Kutu Acheampong, and was overthrown and executed in another military coup less than a year later.

People

Pantheon has 15 people classified as Ghanaian politicians born between 1902 and 1958. Of these 15, 3 (20.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ghanaian politicians include Nana Akufo-Addo, John Kufuor, and John Mahama. The most famous deceased Ghanaian politicians include Kwame Nkrumah, Sylvanus Olympio, and Jerry Rawlings. As of April 2024, 1 new Ghanaian politicians have been added to Pantheon including Clement Quartey.