Jerry John Rawlings, a young flight lieutenant in the Ghana Air Force,

Jerry John Rawlings, a young flight lieutenant in the Ghana Air Force, first burst onto the political stage when he led a coup on June 4, 1979, in what became known as the “June 4th Uprising.” The revolt was driven by widespread corruption, economic hardship, and deep discontent within both the military and society at large.

After seizing power, Rawlings and his fellow junior officers formed the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), which ruled briefly. In its short existence, the AFRC embarked on a purge of Ghana’s political and military elite, overseeing the execution of former heads of state and senior officers accused of corruption, a move Rawlings defended as a necessary cleansing of the system.

After just 112 days, Rawlings and the AFRC handed power over to a democratically elected civilian government led by Dr. Hilla Limann of the People’s National Party (PNP) in September 1979. Determined to restore civilian authority, Limann retired Rawlings from the Ghana Air Force. But his government soon ran into severe economic challenges, political instability, and accusations of weakness in confronting corruption.

Frustrated by what he saw as ineffective leadership, Rawlings staged another coup on December 31, 1981. He dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution, and established the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) as the new ruling body. Limann, together with about 200 politicians, was detained.

From that point, Rawlings consolidated his authority, ruling Ghana as a military leader throughout the 1980s before transitioning to civilian politics in the 1990s. In 1992, under pressure to restore democracy, he founded the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and won Ghana’s first presidential election under the Fourth Republic. He secured re-election in 1996, serving two full constitutional terms.

Altogether, Rawlings governed Ghana from December 31, 1981, until January 7, 2001, nearly two decades, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most powerful and controversial figures in the nation’s modern history.