The life and times of the Late Ghanian President John Evans Fifii Atta Mills(21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012)

John Evans Fifii Atta Mills

John Evans Fifii Atta Mills, also known as The Prof, (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician who was President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the ruling party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 election.
He was Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and stood unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He died on 24 July 2012 at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. He is the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office. 

Early life

Mills was born on 21 July 1944 in Tarkwa, 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 completed a law degree in 1967. He was a Akan from the Central Region of Ghana.

Mills studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science and earned a PhD in Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, after completing his doctoral thesis in the field of taxation and economic development. 

Early career

Mills' first formal teaching assignment was as a lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ghana. He spent close to twenty five years teaching at Legon and other institutions of higher learning. In 1971, he was selected for the Fulbright Scholar programme at Stanford Law School in the U.S.

He returned to Ghana after receiving his PhD, to work at his alma mater, the University of Ghana, for 25 years. 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 and 1980s.

Outside of his academic pursuits, Professor Mills was the Acting Commissioner of Ghana's Internal Revenue Service from 1986 to 1993 under President Jerry John Rawlings, and the substantive Commissioner from 1993 to 1996. By 1992, he had become an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Ghana. 

Politics

For the inaugural presidential election 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 election, 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. Arkaah stood as candidate for the reborn CPP in the 1996 presidential election against Rawlings. Rawlings selected Mills for the vacated Vice-Presidency in his bid for re-election to a second term in the election and was re-elected to his second term in office, serving from 1996 to 2000. 

Presidential elections

In 2000, Mills became the NDC's candidate for the 2000 presidential election after Rawlings had served his constitutionally mandated terms as president. The main rival for Mills' own bid for the presidency was John Agyekum Kufuor, who was running as the candidate for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). In the first round, held on 7 December 2000, Mills gained 44.8% of the vote, Kufuor won the first round with 48.4%, thus forcing a second round. On 28 December 2000, Kufuor defeated Mills with 56.9% of the vote and was sworn in as president on 7 January 2001.

In December 2002, Mills was elected by his party to be its flag bearer and lead them into the 2004 election. He was, however, defeated again by incumbent President John Agyekum Kufuor, who received 52.45% of the vote on the first ballot.

On 21 December, 2006, he became the NDC's candidate for the 2008 presidential election, winning his party's ticket by an 81.4% result (1,362 votes), far ahead of his opponents, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, and Eddie Annan. In the 2008 election, John Agyekum Kufuor was no longer eligible to run as president, having served two terms. Mills' main opponent from the New Patriotic Party was now Nana Akufo-Addo. Mills ran under the campaign slogal of "A Better Man for a Better Ghana," on a platform of change. He said: "People are complaining. They're saying that their standard of living has deteriorated these past eight years. So if Ghana is a model of growth, it's not translating into something people can feel." The result of the first ballot had Akufo-Addo in front with 49.13% of the vote to Mills' 47.92%, however, a run-off second round of voting was needed. The second round of voting took place on December 28, 2008. The result was a slim lead
held by Mills, but due to problems with the distribution of ballots, the Tain constituency, located in the Brong-Ahafo Region, was forced to vote again on January 2, 2009. The final result was a victory by Mills with 50.23% of the vote to Akufo-Addo's 49.77%. Mills became the third President of the 4th Republic Of Ghana. 

Presidency

Amongst his accomplishments as president was presiding over and initiating Ghana's first ever oil production. He was also credited for other economic growth in the country during his tenure. A few months prior to his death, he was praised by U.S. President Barack Obama for making Ghana a "good news story" that had good democratic credentials. He also fostered economic ties with China. He was also the first incument president to be re-nominated for an election for his party via a primary

Personal Life

He was married to Ernestina Naadu Mills, an educator, and had a son, Sam Kofi Atta Mills.

He was a good friend to T.B. Joshua of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria (He prophesied the death of a serving president some months ago) and regularly visited his church. He said, following his inauguration, that Joshua had prophesied that it would take him three elections to win the presidency and that the result would be released in January.

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). He was also a board member of Hearts of Oak and a Manchester United fan(My darling Club).

Other activities and projects

He was a member of the Ghana Stock Exchange Council.

In 1988, he became the acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service of Ghana and was named Commissioner in September 1996.

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.

Illness and death

Mills died on 24 July 2012, at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, three days after his 68th birthday. Though the cause of death was not immediately released, he had been suffering from throat cancer and had recently been to the U.S. for medical reasons. His office announced the death with a statement that read: "It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sudden and untimely death of the president of the republic of Ghana." It also added that he died hours after being taken ill. A presidential aide said that he had complained of pains the day prior to his death. According to the BBC, his voice had degenerated in the previous few months. Former minister Elizabeth Ohene said that as a result of previous false reports of his death, she had not believed initial claims of his actual death. "For the past three or four years there's been news he's been unwell and rumours of his death - twice - and he appeared with grim humour to say they were exaggerated,
insisting he was well." His Vice President John Dramani Mahama was sworn in at about 18:00 GMT on the same day. In accordance with the constitution, Mahama's tenure will expire at the same time Mills' was due to end, by the end of the year just prior to an election, in which he was due to run. Mahama said upon being inaugurated in parliament: "This is the saddest day in our nation's history. Tears have engulfed our nation and we are deeply saddened and distraught. I never imagined that one day that it would place our nation in such a difficult circumstance. I'm personally devastated, I've lost a father, I've lost a friend, I've lost a mentor and a senior comrade. Ghana is united in grief at this time for our departed president."

May his soul Rest In Peace.