News
Ghana President John Atta Mills dies suddenly
Ghana’s President John Evans Atta Mills speaks during a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 8, 2012. PHOTO/Joshua Roberts/Reuters
John Atta Mills, who ran three times for president before being elected in the closest vote in the country’s history on a platform vowing to reform the West African country of Ghana, died Tuesday, according to Information Minister Fritz Baffour. He was 68.
Chief of Staff John Henry Martey Newman also addressed the nation on state-run television stations GTV and TV3, saying that Atta Mills died Tuesday afternoon at the 37th Military Hospital in Accra. Newman gave no details about the cause of Atta Mills’ death.
Information Minister Baffour also declined to elaborate. “Yes, I can confirm his death, but I can’t say more,” he told The Associated Press.
The president celebrated his 68th birthday Saturday. He was poised to seek re-election later this year.
Atta Mills traveled to the United States in March and met for a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. He also traveled to the U.S. in April as well, as rumors about his health began to circulate in Ghana.
Atta Mills was elected in a 2008 runoff vote and was to run for a second term in December. He campaigned on a platform of change, arguing that Ghana’s growth had not been felt in people’s wallets.
“People are complaining. They’re saying that their standard of living has deteriorated these past eight years,” he said. “So if Ghana is a model of growth, it’s not translating into something people can feel.”
