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Breaking News: Ghana’s President Atta Mills Is Dead

The late John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills

Information available to GhanaCelebrities.Com confirms that Ghana’s President John Evans Atta Mills is dead. He died few minutes ago at the 37 Military Hospital on Tuesday.
He died at age 68.
John Evans Attah-Mills was born July 21st 1944 in Tarkwa.
He hailed from the mfantsiman East constituency of the central region.
Attended the University of Ghana and graduated with a degree in law in 1967.
He was awarded a PHD in taxation and economic development.
He spent close to 25 years teaching in the University of Ghana.
He won the elections on his 3rd attempt in 2008.
He is survived by his wife and a son from a different woman.
He was the presidential candidate of the NDC for the December elections. This is the first time Ghana has lost a sitting president.
The vice-president John Dramani Mahama is on his way to the House of Parliament to be sworn in at 6 o’clock. GhanaCelebrities will bring you more news as the story develops…
His Biography 
President John Evans Fifii Atta Mills, born 21 July 1944, was the third President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, after winning the 2008 election. He was Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry John Rawlings, and stood unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The 68-year-old died a few hours after being taken ill at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
Early life, education and academic career
Mills was a Fanti from Ekumfi Otuam in the Central Region of Ghana. He was born in Tarkwa on 21 July 1944, located in the Western Region of Ghana. He was educated at Achimota School, where he completed the Advanced-Level Certificate in 1963, and the University of Ghana, Legon, where he received “Black man of the month” several times.
In 1968, Mills studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and received a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Thus began the journey of the next twenty years of Mills’ life, which was largely spent with spells both in Ghana and internationally as an academic. Mills earned a Ph.D in Law from London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies(SOAS) after completing his doctoral thesis in the area of taxation and economic development.
Personal life
He was married to Ernestina Naadu Mills, an educator and had a son, Sam Kofi Atta Mills, with Ruby Addo.
He was a good friend to Prophet T.B. Joshua of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria and regularly visited his church. He said following his inauguration that T.B. Joshua had prophesied to him there would be three elections, the results would be released in January, and he would emerge victorious.
Career as a lecturer
Mills’ first formal teaching assignment was as a lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ghana Legon. He spent close to twenty five years teaching at Legon and other institutions of higher learning, and rose in position from lecturer to senior lecturer to associate professor, and served on numerous boards and committees.
Additionally, he traveled worldwide as a visiting lecturer and professor at educational institutions such as the LSE, and presented research papers at symposiums and conferences. In 1971, he was selected for the Fulbright Scholar program at Stanford Law School in the United States Of America.
At the age of 27, he was awarded his PhD after successfully defending his doctoral thesis in the area of taxation and economic development. He returned to Ghana that year, becoming a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ghana. He became a visiting professor of Temple Law School (Philadelphia, USA), with two stints from 1978 to 1979, and 1986 to 1987, and was a visiting professor at Leiden University (Holland) from 1985 to 1986. During this period, he authored several publications relating to taxation during the 1970s & 1980s.
Outside of his academic pursuits, Professor Mills was the Acting Commissioner of Ghana’s Internal Revenue Service from 1986 to 1993, and the substantive Commissioner from 1993 to 1996.By 1992, he had become an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Ghana. Mills was also a Fulbright scholar at Stanford Law School.
Vice-President of Ghana
For the inaugural Presidential Elections in 1992, the National Convention Party (NCP) had formed an alliance with the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Former Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Chairman, and leader of Ghana, Flight-Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings chose the NCP leader, Kow Nkensen Arkaah, as his running-mate for Vice-President. Having been elected in the 1992 elections, Arkaah served between 1992–1996.
However, on 29 January 1996, the NCP broke with the NDC, merging with the People’s Convention Party (PCP) to form a rebirth of the Convention People’s Party (the formerly outlawed political party of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah). Thus, in a bitter split, Arkaah would stand as candidate for the reborn CPP in the 1996 Presidential Elections against Rawlings. Rawlings selected Mills for the vacated Vice-Presidency in his bid for re-election to a second term in Ghana’s 1996 Presidential Election. Rawlings was re-elected to his second term in office, and Mills became Vice-President of Ghana between 1996 to 2000.
Seeking the highest office in Ghana
In 2000, Mills became the NDC’s candidate for the 2000 Presidential elections after Rawlings had served his constitutionally mandated terms as president. At the time, and after essentially two decades of PNDC/NDC rule, the NDC’s war chest for the upcoming elections was certainly much stronger than that of the NPP. The result would clearly between the NDC’s popularity with the people, and Vice-President Mills’ track-record alongside President Rawlings, and the veteran political experience that the NPP candidate would bring to the campaign. The main rival for Vice-President Mills’ own bid for the Presidency was a veteran politician, John Agyekum Kufuor, who was running as the candidate for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Ghana’s presidential elections in the year 2000 went into two rounds: In the first round, held on 7 December 2000, Mills gained 44.8% of the vote, Kufuor won the first round with 48.4%. This result forced the elections into a two-party run-off vote on 28 December 2000, where Kufuor defeated Vice-President Mills with a result of 56.9% of the vote. The NPP won the election, and Kufuor was sworn in as President of Ghana on 7 January 2001.
In December 2002, John Atta Mills was elected by his party to be its flag bearer and lead them into the 2004 elections.
In 2002, former Vice-President Mills was again selected as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress for the upcoming presidential elections in 2004. He was however defeated again by President Kufuor, who won by a margin of 52.45%.
On 21 December 2006, former Vice-President Mills became the NDC’s candidate for the 2008 presidential elections, winning his party’s ticket by an 81.4% result. Early polls showed that Mills was the favourite, but in another poll taken just months before the first-round voting, Nana Akufo-Addo emerged as the favourite. Election campaigning was strong, particularly with advertising, which was clearly much heavier with the NPP candidate.
The first round of voting occurred on 7 December 2008. In a very close result amongst all parties, Nana Akufo-Addo’s NPP finished with 49.13% of the vote, close to the outright margin required to win in the first round, while Mills’ NDC finished with 47.92%. The other parties garnered 2.37% of the votes.
The result forced a second-round of voting between NPP and NDC on 28 December 2008. The result was a slim margin held by Mills, but due to problems with the distribution of ballots, the Tain constituency, located in the Brong-Ahafo Region, was forced to re-run its voting on 2 January 2009. The voting in the Tain constituency led to a landslide victory to the NDC.
For several days, the Electoral Commission of Ghana did not call the result to the NDC, and the NPP filed a lawsuit, claiming that “the atmosphere in the rural district was not conducive to a free and fair election”. Eventually, the NPP bowed to the inevitable, and on the morning of 3 January 2009, the election result was finally announced. Former Vice-President John Atta-Mills, who had failed to win in two previous campaigns, made history by winning the 2008 presidential election, becoming the third President of the 4th Republic Of Ghana.
Publications
Mills produced several publications during his life, including:
Taxation of Periodical or Deferred Payments arising from the Sale of Fixed Capital (1974).
Exemption of Dividends from Income taxation: A critical Appraisal (1977) In: Review of Ghana Law, 1997, 9: 1, p. 38–47
Report of the Tax Review Commission, Ghana, parts 1–3 (1977).
Ghana’s Income Tax laws and the Investor. (An inter-faculty lecture published by the University of Ghana)
Ghana’s new investment code : an appraisal (1993) In: University of Ghana Law Journal, 1993, vol. 18, p. 1–29
He also held examiner positions with finance-related institutions in Ghana, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Bankers, and Ghana Tax Review Commission.
Contribution to sports
He contributed to the Ghana Hockey Association, National Sports Council of Ghana, and Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club. He enjoyed hockey and swimming, and once played for the national hockey team (he remained a member of the Veterans Hockey Team until his death).
Presidency
On 21 December 2006, Mills was overwhelmingly elected by the NDC as its candidate for the 2008 presidential election with a majority of 81.4% (1,362 votes), far ahead of his opponents, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, and Eddie Annan. In 2008, he was elected president of Ghana, after a keenly contested three round election. He died on 24 July 2012 while still in office.



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0 thoughts on “Breaking News: Ghana’s President Atta Mills Is Dead”

  1. I mean RIP, but we all knew the man was very sick and the Ahwoi bros were running the show, hopefully ghanaians can vote well

    Reply
    • For how long will we continue to wade in this pettiness. Here was a man who worked selflessly for the nation and I thought folks like you would uphold the age old tradition of respecting the memory of the dead……Even in his grave,you still badmouth him? Ughh!!!

      Reply
    • @27calibre (O_0 ),
      And how did we benefit from his so called HUMILITY?  
      Ghanaians are arrogant people. That is why we always seek humility in others. 
      Americans are looking for a bold, fearless leader. Ghanaians are looking for 
      humility! Shoo..

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      • @moki,Listen e is dead keep your negative thought to yourself okay even if he didnt do enough for the country 
        Who are you to come and write nonsense 

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        • @Miyagi, GOOD one lol of late am beginning to like your opinions paaaa infact moki is a fool where in the world do ppl ruin insults and accusations on the death? they are gone.. Dead men cannot see nor talk so why dont keep your stupid  words to your self… Devil incarnate 

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          • @nana ama, I EVEN WONDER HOW MANY PRESIDENTS HAS DONE THE LITTLE DEVELOPMENT HES BROUGHT TO GHANA IN 3 YRS EVEN WHEN HE WAS SICK…SO U SEE, EVEN A SICK MAN RULED US AND PERFORMED BETTER IN JUST 3 YRS THAN RAWLINGS AND KUFFOURS 3 YRS EACH… ITS NO LIE, KUFFOUR SUCCEEDED IN 8 YRS..LETS BE REAL.. I WONDER HOW DE FACE OF DE RAWLINGS LOOK NOW…U DIDNT GIVE THIS MAN A BREATHING SPACE, NOW CHOP UR AMBRELLA AND EAT UR NDC… NOW U GO NO SAY MAN NO BE NOTHING.. MADAFAKA

        • @Miyagi,my brother i dont know why that @moki celebrate his death now ,no wonder his behaviour goes with his name monkey 

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        • @Miyagi,
          And who are you to call my opinion nonsense? This is EXACTLY what I am talking about. Ghanaians claim to be humble and whatnot but are arrogant enough to call someone names in the same breadth. May our late president rest in peace. I do not disrespect him. 
          uBut the fact is we need bold & courageous leaders from henceforth if we want real change in the nation. And for all you name callers, you’ve just justified the true nature of Ghanaians. 

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          • @moki, can u pls do all of us a favour and shut the hell up PLEASE.!!!! who the hell are you to be talking like that, r u stupid boo. am sure u aint Ghanaian- and if you u need to go back to ur mom to teach u manners. You very stupid to be taling like this on a day like this. i seriously cant deal with IDIOT like this mann. AM OUT.

          • @moki,hwe ne kwasia w) y3 aboa paaaaaaaaa wati  w’enim tantan wai Kuraseni, wo hwene mu hoo se hotel otwia you better not start with me ofui  what sense are tiu making here im sure your not even a Ghanaian if you are than i will rather concider you as a vulgar little maggot you worthless bag of filth done start with me someone just past away and your here talking nonsense 

          • @Miyagi,
            aka MAGGOT. I will say what I want to say. Too bad if you have to go on an insulting rant. You have only proved my point that Ghanaians are NOT humble people. in ANY way. YOU have proved that. Humble my foot. Wicked man. 

      • @moki,even if he did not act as a president as the way you want you have to say good words if you like it or not he was your president ,only MONKEYS BEHAVE LIKE YOU

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      • @moki, ba being humble does not keep u from being bold and proud.. the bible even talks about humility, Jesus was humble n does what His father wanted, that does not mean he was foolish n not bold………mtchewwwwwwwwwwwwwww

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      • it is time we start believing that only God can save n help us not Presidents, we were not created to reign ourselves, that work is for God….

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      • Idiot what did america also get from da bold n fearless bush who went to fight useless wars n innocent american soldiers died for nothing..fool@moki,

        Reply
    • @27calibre (O_0 ), u re very correct.he had a gud heart for ghana.too bad his ppl couldnt see it.i beleived in him till da end.rip prof.

      Reply
    • @27calibre (O_0 ), They killed him dont mind them now come on facebook and see this hypocrites displaying his pictures all over like they treated him well.. RIP our president is a sad day for all of us

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    • Who are the enemies? You are surely one of them. People like you didn’t want to tell truth when it was obvious. If the man were your father or somebody close to you, you might have behaved differently. Hypocrites. SHAME ON YOU.

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      • @I SHALL RETURN,if you are not is enemy why will you be worried about my comments ,nemesis may catch up upon you

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      • @I SHALL RETURN, you are right.why do little minds always call opponents as enemies.I agree with you people like nana ama and calibre 27 were the enemies of prez mills.the man was seriously ill and needed to take care of his healthy issues but the greedy people under his cabinet always denied that fact in order to cover their criminal deed.God is watching. RIP PREZ MILLS.

        Reply
  2. IT IS FINISHE! ALL THESE INSULTS AND CASTIGATIONS ARE OVER,SUCH À HUMBLE MAN. MAY HÈ FIND PEACE IN THE BOSSOM OF THE MOST HIGH.

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  3. RIP President Mills… Let us pray for continued peace and progress for Ghana, and that the devil cannot use this for any evil plot or scheme…

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    • @cici, who are the people fire should burn?name them,if you dont have any constructive comments to give here then get lost.This is not the time for your stupid comments.Mother GHANA and the whole of Africa is in mourning,nobody rejoices over the death,this is no time for politics,so take your stupid self out of here.

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      • @jessi, She didn’t say none wrong for you to react and is true heard most oppositions are jubilating over his death.. is a website for God sake cant anyone state whats on their mind? please be nice one love is all we need now. thanx

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        • @nana ama,Thank you nana AMA this is reason why I always attack this girl with we nonsense all the time 
          Something I thing her lips are too loose And is mental 

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          • @Miyagi, her comment is not making any sense cici only said her mind and why the insult jessi?  miyagi am sure is best we straighten ppl like jessi cos this is only a forum and our opinions should be stated as well

          • @nana ama, its seems you are new here,the very people who are hailing you are the same people who made it almost impossible for people to speak their mind here,when its about people they dont like,no problem,but if its people they like,you have no right to criticise them,they have made it a point to insults everybody that will criticise their soo called favourite celebrities forgeting that this is an open forum as you put it.Go back and read articles and comments back from early 2011 till now and the insults these same people here threw at commenters here,and if none of them make sence to you,then i can understand where you are coming from,afterall there is no diference between kenke and corn dough.

        • you said you heard,that means you did not see with your own eyes,so therefore it could be false or true,lets even assume its true,is that necessary now?Our president just died,lets pray for him and wish him a safe journey to the Lord and stop all this i heard this and that and fire burn people nonsence.lets purse for a minute and be one Nation for once and mourn our PRESIDENT and stop the too much talk,GHANA we dey talk too much.

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          • @jessi, i respect that but please always dont be the first to insult others..what cici stated was nothing for u to say all that… thanx

          • @jessi, which journey to the lord? when u die u die, infact the bible tells us that we r unconsious when we die n tht is why He is gonna resurrect us like jesus did…. nawaa ooooo,Ecc. 9:5, 10 pls go read this..
            New International Version (NIV)
            Ecc 9:
            10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom

      • @jessi,behave like a lady and stop attacking@cici for commenting positively ,you are right for saying it not time for politics let us be positive.

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      • @jessi, Jessi,to hell wit u ok..stupid girl..whats the wrong thing that i said??nonsense kwa..next time by-pass comment n go to something..imbecile girl

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    • @cici, Some are jubilating over his dead.. Can you imagine? who does that at least wicked folks deserved to be treated with respect when they passed, although Mills known to be the most humble man Ghana could ever had so what is the point of them jubilating over this sad tragedy? 

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  4. its only the the uncivilised who will write nonsense about mills don’t forget he was a human too you can sit here and write stupidity but remember death is inevitable. rest in peace Atta Mills no matter what people think about you or say about you your name will always be remembered 

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  5. may his soul rest in good peace. i am very torn because im afraid that people are going to use this as an excuse to create violence and disruption. please lets stay together and get through this hard time in our country’s history and legacy. Ghana is the only place i can call home and i know many others feel the same, so lets make it safe for all and lets stay together

    Reply
  6. STUPID FOOL, HOW DID U KNOW IT WAS HIS ILLNESS THAT GOT HIM KILLED, IF I SHOULD ASK U WHAT U KNOW THAT KILLED HIM U WILL BE TALKING NONSENSE.. SHUT UP TILL AN AUTOPSY IS MADE DEN U CAN OPEN UR DIRTY MOUTH TO START SAYING SHIT, WHO ISNT SICK IN THIS WORLD..

    Reply
    • @biz, of cos, nine days ago he was in USA for treatment, monday he complained of not feeling well, he dies today so what killed him????????????

      Reply
  7. ooh no! the witches and wizards have killed him. or should i say its Rawlings and NPP. i can’t help it. as a typical ghanaian nobody dies a natural death. RIP prez!

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  8. Sad news and may his soul rest in peace.I wonder why some people are blaming his political opponents.Like seriously?What will they say 2 his own pple ard him who kept on pushing him ard due to their selfish interests inspite of his failing health and the pressure @ the presidency?To add salt to injury they kept on denying it and forced the poor man to go beyond his limits.What did u expect?People are rather blaming Rawlings,Akuffo Addo etc.How do they come into all dis?Anyway dis is not time for dis.My condolences to his family esp. the 1st lady and his son.

    Reply
    • @TheChuckylee, well said.this is the truth Ghanaians.We shouldn’t be hypocrites and shallow minded but rather vigilant and seek the truth always. i couldn’t have said it better TheChucklee. RIP Prez Mills.

      Reply
    • @KA NE WU, well he did mention last week that one of the African president would die but he did not mention any name do it could have been anybody 

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        • Yup it could have been anybody but we never knew that it. Was going to be our late president but no matter what its now up to the citizen now to learn from him and change their mindset of entitlement and understand what public service is really about he embodied what you can do for your country and not what your country can do for you @KA NE WU,

          Reply
  9. NOW AKUFO ADO SHOULD FOLLOW ATTA TO THE GRAVE AND CONTINUE WITH THE INSULTS,THE MAN HAVE LEFT THE WORLD FOR HIM, OYA SEE YOU SEE GHANA MR AKUFO ADO, GO AHEAD AND POCKET GHANA ATTA MILS IS NO MORE.

    Reply
    • @Bernard, Dis is a very immature comment.Do u understand politics @ all?Didn’t the late Mills also oppose Kuffuor?Does it mean he wanted Kuffuor to die?So by inference are u telling me the govt officials who insult Akuffo Addo everyday also want him 2 die?I don’t think so.Some of u have a lot of growing up 2 do if dis is the kind of twisted mindset u have.

      Reply
  10. AS FOR RAWLINGS, I HAD A LOT OF RESPECT FOR HIM BUT I WILL TELL HIM TO HID HIS FACE IN THE DUST BECAUSE HIS MIRROR HAVE BEEN SHATTERED.

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  11. SO WHERE ARE ALL THE COMPETITORS OF THIS NOBLE MAN CALLED ATTA MILS? WHO WILL THEY LUGGER HEAD WITH NOW? SHAME ON YOU ALL (POLITICIANS) BIG SHAME ON YOU NANA AKUFO ADO SHAME ON YOU.

    Reply

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