(1909-1972)
(1909-1972)
Kwame Nkrumah became the first prime and later president
of Ghana. He was born on September 21, 1909, at Nkroful in what was then the
British-ruled Gold Coast, the son of a goldsmith. Trained as a teacher, he went
to the United States in 1935 for advanced studies and continued his schooling in
England, where he helped organize the Pan-African Congress in 1945. He returned
to Ghana in 1947 and became general secretary of the newly founded United Gold
Coast Convention but split from it in 1949 to form the Convention People's party
(CPP).
After his 'positive action' campaign created disturbances in 1950, Nkrumah was
jailed, but when the CPP swept the 1951 elections, he was freed to form a
government, and he led the colony to independence as Ghana in 1957. A firm
believer in African liberation, Nkrumah pursued a radical pan-African policy,
playing a key role in the formation of the Organization of African Unity in
1963. As head of government, he was less successful however, and as time passed
he was accused of forming a dictatorship. In 1964 he formed a one-party state,
with himself as president for life, and was accused of actively promoting a cult
of his own personality. Overthrown by the military in 1966, with the help of
western backing, he spent his last years in exile, dying in Bucharest, Romania,
on April 27, 1972. His legacy and dream of a "United States of
African" still remains a goal among many.
Nkrumah was the motivating force behind the movement for independence of Ghana,
then British West Africa, and its first president when it became independent in
1957. His numerous writings address Africa's political destiny.