Ghana President Mills dies, VP takes over
Wednesday, July 25, 2012Omoba
Ghana's President John
Atta Mills, who won international praise for presiding over a stable model
democracy in Africa, died suddenly on Tuesday and his vice-president was
quickly sworn in to replace him at the helm of the oil, gold and cocoa
producer.
Mills had
celebrated his 68th birthday on Saturday and his unexpected death came months
before he was due to stand for re-election in December as head of the world's
No. 2 cocoa grower, which is also a major African gold producer.
In line with Ghana’s constitution, Vice-President John Dramani Mahama, who is 53, took
the oath of office as head of state before a somber parliament hours after the
announcement of Mills’ death. Mahama will serve as caretaker president until
the elections at the end of the year. He
has already declared 7 days of mourning and that the national flag should fly
at half-mast.
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