Jerry Rawlings, who seized control of Ghana twice in military coups before becoming the country’s democratically-elected president, has died at the age of 73, his party said in a statement Thursday
Rawlings’ takeovers in 1979 and 1981 were marked by authoritarian rule and the executions of senior military officers, including General Frederick Akuffo, whom he overthrew in the first coup.
But Rawlings went on to oversee Ghana’s transition to multi-party democracy, winning election in 1992 and 1996 before stepping down in 2001.
“A great tree has fallen, and Ghana is poorer for this loss,” said the current president, Nana Akufo-Addo, in a statement.