On Wednesday the 7th of January 2009, Ghana swore-in her 3rd President of the 4th Republic at the independence square in Accra.
President John Evans Atta Mills, the Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2008 General Elections, was born on July 21st, 1944, at Tarkwa in the Western Region of Ghana and has his roots at Ekumfi Otuam in the Mfantsiman East Constituency of the Central Region.
He attended Achimota Secondary School, where he completed the Advanced Level Certificate in 1963. He continued his education at the University of Ghana, Legon for a bachelor’s degree and professional certificate in Law in 1967.
President Mills went aboard to do a PhD in Law at the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, United Kingdom, where he was awarded a PhD degree after successfully defending his doctoral thesis in taxation and economic development. While there President John Evans Atta Mills was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to attend the equally prestigious Stanford Law School in the United States of America.
President Mills’ first formal teaching assignment was Lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ghana, Legon. He spent almost twenty five years imparting knowledge at Legon and other institutions of higher learning. President Mills rose from lecturer to senior lecturer and subsequently Associate Professor.
He served on numerous boards and committees and made remarkable contributions to the University. During his years of teaching and research, President Mills traveled as a Visiting Lecturer and Professor at a number of educational institutions worldwide and presented research papers at symposia and conferences. In 1988, President John Evans Atta Mills served as Acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service of Ghana and on January 7, 1997, he was sworn-in as the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana.
In 2002, President Mills went to the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Affairs in the University of British Columbia, Canada as Visiting Scholar to share the ideals of NEPAD and the African Peer Review Mechanism with Canadian students and Research Scholars. Prof. John Evans Atta Mills continues to contribute to the development of good governance in the Republic of Ghana.
In December 2002, President John Evans Atta Mills was elected by his party the National Democratic Congress as its flag bearer and led them into the 2004 and the just ended 2008 elections. As an advocate of recreation and an active sportsman and sports fan, President John Evans Atta Mills has supported the academic community and the nation through his contribution to the Ghana Hockey Association and National Sports Council of Ghana.
He makes time for swimming and uses it as a form of exercise. President John Evans Atta Mills is married to Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills, an educationist, and has a 19 year old son, Sam Kofi Atta Mills.
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