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Biography of the late Kwame Nkrumah
Jun 26, 2025
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By: Ismail Akwei
Kwame Nkrumah (September 21, 1909 – April 27, 1972) was a Ghanaian nationalist leader and the first Prime Minister and President of independent Ghana. Born in Nkroful in the Gold Coast, Nkrumah pursued higher education abroad, studying in the United States and the United Kingdom, where he developed his political philosophy centred on African liberation and socialism.
Returning to the Gold Coast in 1947, Nkrumah quickly became a leading figure in the struggle for independence from British colonial rule. In 1949, he founded the Convention People’s Party (CPP), which rapidly gained popular support through its call for self-governance. Despite being imprisoned in 1950 for his activism, he won a decisive victory in the 1951 legislative elections and was released to become the leader of the government.
Under his leadership, the Gold Coast achieved independence in 1957, becoming Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African country to break free from colonial rule, with Nkrumah as its first Prime Minister. In 1960, Ghana became a republic, and Nkrumah was elected its first president.
Nkrumah’s administration focused on rapid modernisation through industrial and infrastructure projects, education expansion, and policies promoting African identity and unity. He was also a passionate advocate of Pan-Africanism, playing a key role in founding the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
However, his government grew increasingly authoritarian during the 1960s, suppressing opposition and declaring Ghana a one-party state with Nkrumah as president for life.
Economic difficulties and political unrest culminated in his overthrow by a military coup in 1966 while he was on a state visit to China. Nkrumah spent the remainder of his life in exile in Guinea, where he was named honorary co-president. He died in 1972 in Romania.
Kwame Nkrumah remains a towering figure in African history, remembered for his visionary leadership in the fight for independence and African unity, as well as the complexities of his later rule.
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