A minute silence was held in memory of former President of the Republic of Ghana, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings in Parliament today.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo giving his end of term State of the Nation Address at the beginning of his speech called for a minute of silence observation in honour and memory of Ghana’s first president of the fourth republican dispensation.

The late Jerry John Rawlings died on Thursday, November 12, at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra after a short illness.

Mr Rawlings was the first president of the Fourth Republic, ruling from January 1993 to January 2001, having served the maximum two terms.

Before then, he was the Head of State from December 1981 to December 1992, coming to power through a military coup.

Born 22 June 1947, in Accra, Gold Coast, the former air force officer and politician first appeared on the Ghanaian political scene on 15 May 1979 when he led a group of junior officers in the Ghana Air Force in an unsuccessful coup d’état that resulted in his arrest and imprisonment.

He was court-martialled in public and sentenced to death. Due to his display of patriotism in his defense speeches, he was widely seen across the country as a true son of Ghana, and was nicknamed Junior Jesus for his initials “JJ”.

Before he could be executed, another group of junior officers within the Ghana Army led by Major Boakye-Djan, overthrew the then military government of Lieutenant General Fred Akuffo in a bloody coup on June 4, 1979. Major Boakye-Djan and his men also set Rawlings free from prison, and installed him as head of the new government – the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). At the time of the coup, Ghana was already far into the process of returning to civilian rule and general elections were already scheduled.

Hence, the AFRC went ahead to conduct an election and handed over power to Dr. Hilla Limann who won the popular vote in the election to establish the Third Republic.

Less than two years later, Dr. Limann’s civilian and constitutional government was overthrown again by Jerry Rawlings on 31 December, 1981. He then installed the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime. In all Jerry Rawlings performed three coups d’état in Ghana, two of which were successful.