John Dramani Mahama Biography: age, wife Lordina, children, education, family
Who is John Dramani Mahama in Ghana?
John Dramani Mahama is an accomplished Ghanaian politician, communication expert, and former President of the Republic of Ghana.
He is the first Ghanaian President ever to have served at all levels of political office from an Assembly member to Ghana & Pan-African Member of Parliament (MP), Deputy Minister, Minister, Vice President, and President of Ghana.
John Mahama is also the first Ghanaian President to have been born after Ghana attained its independence on Wednesday, 6th March, 1957.
He became the vice president of Ghana in 2009 and later assumed the office of president on Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, after the sudden demise of his predecessor, President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills.
- Who is John Dramani Mahama in Ghana?
- John Dramani Mahama age & date of birth
- John Dramani Mahama Childhood, Early Life, Parents (father & mother), Family, Hometown, Brothers
- John Mahama Brothers, Family
- John Dramani Mahama Education, Secondary School
- Wife Lordina, children, Family
- John Dramani Mahama Career
- John Dramani Mahama Politics: Political Career as Member of Parliament & Minister
- John Mahama as Vice-President of Ghana
- John Dramani Mahama as the President of the Republic of Ghana
- John Mahama 2020 presidential bid
- John Mahama Publications, as a writer & communications expert
- John Dramani Mahama Books
- John Mahama Awards, Recognition, Honours
- John Mahama website
- John Mahama Twitter
- John Mahama Instagram
- John Mahama Facebook
John Dramani Mahama age & date of birth
John Dramani Mahama (JDM) was born on November 29th, 1958, in Damongo, Ghana.
The former president of Ghana is currently 64 years of age and will be 65 come November next year, 2023.
John Dramani Mahama Childhood, Early Life, Parents (father & mother), Family, Hometown, Brothers
John Dramani Mahama was born to an affluent teacher, rice farmer, and politician Mr Emmanuel Adama Mahama and Hajia Abiba Nnaba Suluwu in Damango — capital of West Gonja District in the Northern Region of Ghana.
He has three siblings (see their photos below) including the famous Ibrahim Mahama (3rd born), Alfred Abdullai Mahama (1st born), and Samuel Adam Mahama (last born).
John Mamaha is a Christian and originally a Presbyterian but is now a member of the Assemblies of God Church.
John Mahama hails from Bole Bamboi in the Northern Region of Ghana where he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1997 to 2009.
His father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama served as the first Member of Parliament for West Gonja and the first Regional Commissioner of Northern Region during the First Republic under Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
John Mahama’s father also served as a senior presidential advisor to the late former president Hilla Limann — who was overthrown in 1981 by Jerry John Rawlings — during Ghana’s Third Republic.
John Mahama Brothers, Family
Yours Truly, BieGyaNation.Com presents to you the four Mahama brothers.
1. Alfred Abdullai Mahama (1st born):
Mr Alfred is the eldest or 1st born of the Mahama family. He is a project coordinator and environmental consultant.
2. John Dramani Mahama (2nd born):
Mr John Mahama is the 2nd born of the Mahama family and a former President of the Republic of Ghana.
3. Ibrahim Mahama (3rd born):
Mr Ibrahim is the 3rd born of the Mahama family and a very successful business man. He is the founder and president of Engineers & Planners — the biggest indigenous-owned mining company in West Africa.
4. Samuel Adama Mahama (last born):
Mr Samuel is the fourth or last born of the Mahama family. He is based in the UK and wasn’t that well-known until last year (2020) when a fake warrant was issued for his arrest by some fake Interpol (International Police Organization) in Ghana.
John Dramani Mahama Education, Secondary School
John Mahama began his primary school education at the the Accra Newtown Experimental School (ANT1) before becoming a boarding student at the Achimota Primary School in Accra.
The former president had his secondary school education at Ghana Secondary School in Tamale, Northern Region of Ghana.
In 1981, Mr Mahama — who was a member of Commonwealth Hall (Legon) — graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Ghana, Legon.
In 1986, he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Mr Mahama taught history in Ghana Secondary School (his alma mater) for a few years before pursuing a postgraduate degree in Social Psychology from the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow, Russia which was awarded him in 1988.
Wife Lordina, children, Family
John Mahama is marred to Madam Lordina Mahama (formerly Lordina Effah).
Lordina Mahama — who is the third child of four children and hails from Booma and Jemma-Ampoma in the Nkoranza District of the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana — was born on March 6th, 1963, to Mr and Mrs Effah who are both deceased.
She started her early education at the Tishigu Anglican Primary School in Tamale. She attended Bolga Girls School in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region, and later moved to Ghana Secondary School in Tamale.
John Mahama and Lordina got married on Wednesday, July 29th, 1992, and have since remained faithful to each for the past 28 years.
He has five children namely Shafik, Shahid, Sharaf, Jesse, and Farida.
According to John Mahama, he met his wife Lordina Effah — who was one of his History students — at Ghana Secondary School (his alma mater) where he had gone to teach History as a National Service Personnel.
“I met Lordina when I went back to do National Service at my former school, Ghana Secondary School, at the time she looked attractive, I was her History teacher … the rest is history,” Mahama said.
John Dramani Mahama Career
John Mahama returned to Ghana after his stay in Moscow to take up a new job as the Information, Culture, and Research Officer at the embassy of Japan in Accra from 1991 to 1995.
Between 1995 and 1996, he took up his next job as the International Relations, Sponsorship, Communication, and Grants Manager at a non-governmental organization known as Ghana Office of Plan International — a humanitarian and development organization.
In 1993, he participated in a professional training course for Overseas Public Relations Staff, organized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo.
He also participated in a management development course organized by Plan International (RESA) in Nairobi, Kenya.
John Dramani Mahama Politics: Political Career as Member of Parliament & Minister
In December 1996, John Mahama was first elected as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for the Bole Bamboi Constituency in the Northern Region of Ghana.
In April 1997, John Mahama was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Communications.
In November 1998, he became the substantive Minister of Communications until January 2001, when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took power from the then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
During his tenure as Minister of Communications, John Mahama who also served as the Chairman of the National Communications Authority, played a key role in stabilizing Ghana’s telecommunications sector after it was deregulated in 1997.
As a minister, he was a founding member of the Ghana AIDS Commission; a member of the implementation committee of the 2000 National Population Census and deputy chairman of the Publicity Committee for the re-introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT).
In 2000, Mr Mahama was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for the Bole Bamboi Constituency.
In 2004, he was again re-elected for a third term as the Member of Parliament for the Bole Bamboi Constituency.
Between 2001 and 2004, he became the Spokesman on Communications for the Minority in Parliament.
In 2002, Mr Mahama was appointed as the Director of Communication for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In that same year (2002), he became a member of the team of International Observers selected to monitor Zimbabwe’s Parliamentary Elections.
Whilst an MP, he was a member of the Standing Orders Committee as well as the Transport, Industry, Energy, Communications, Science and Technology Committee of Parliament.
From 2005, John Mahama became the Minority Parliamentary Spokesman for Foreign Affairs, and also a Member of the Pan African Parliament based in Pretoria, South Africa from 2004 where he served as the Chairman of the West Africa Caucus.
John Mahama as Vice-President of Ghana
In 2008, Mr Mahama was chosen by the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills as his vice presidential candidate on the ticket of NDC.
On Wednesday, January 7, 2009, the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama as his vice, were both sworn in as the President and Vice President of Ghana respectively after they had won the December 2008 presidential election.
John Dramani Mahama as the President of the Republic of Ghana
After the sudden demise of John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills on Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, John Mahama was elevated to the presidency, just months before the end of Mills’ term in 2012.
After his swearing in as the president, John Mahama became the first president Ghana to have served at all levels of political office including Assembly member, Ghana & Pan-African Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister, Minister, Vice President, and President of Ghana.
In 2012, John Mahama was endorsed by the NDC as its presidential candidate at a Special National Delegates Congress held on August 30th, 2012, to contest the December 7, 2012 presidential election, against his main contender Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and six other candidates.
John Dramani Mahama was declared winner by former EC boss Madam Charlotte Osei, with 50.7% of the vote as against his main challenger, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the Patriotic Party (NPP) who had 47.74% of the vote.
However, the NPP led by Nana Akufo-Addo, his running mate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the then chairman of NPP the late Jacob Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, challenged the election results by filing a petition at the Supreme Court of Ghana, alleging irregularities, malpractices, omissions and violations.
On August 29th, 2013, after eight months of hearing, the nine Justices of the Supreme Court by a majority decision dismissed NPP’s petition and upheld Mahama’s victory.
Meanwhile, Mahama continued serving as president, after having been inaugurated on January 7, 2013, and faced a worsening economic situation in the country.
Falling global prices on Ghana’s primary exports as well as increasing public wage costs negatively impacted Ghana’s economy, as did increasing debt.
Also affecting the economy was power shortages, which had become an unfortunate hallmark of his administration and led to a nickname that he, president Mahama even joked about: Mr. Dumsor, dum-sor meaning “off-and-on” in the local Twi dialect — describing the frequent power outages at the time.
The economic woes and power shortages, as well as anger over corruption scandals, frustrated voters as the 2016 elections approached.
Mahama, however, was able to counter some of the frustration by pointing to his accomplishments and highlighting infrastructure projects completed under his administration, such as those in the transportation, health, and education sectors.
In 2016, President John Mahama was once again elected by the NDC as its presidential candidate in the December 7, 2016, presidential election in which he faced Nana Akufo-Addo for a second time and five other candidates.
John Dramani Mahama was defeated by Nana Akufo-Addo who won 53.8 percent of the vote as against Mahama’s 44.4 percent.
John Mahama conceded and peacefully stepped down at the end of his term on January 6th midnight, 2017.
In 2019, the NDC overwhelmingly elected Mr Mahama as its presidential candidate for the 2020 presidential election.
John Mahama 2020 presidential bid
In the December 7, 2020 presidential election, John Dramani Mahama placed second with 47% of the vote, whilst the incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo was declared winner with more than 50.1% of the votes cast by the EC chairperson, Madam Jean Mensa.
John Mahama, however, challenged the results by filing a petition at the Supreme Court of Ghana, with allegations of irregularities that affected the outcome of the presidential election and thus wanted the court to order a re-run.
On Thursday, March 4th, 2021, the Supreme court rejected Mahama’s petition, citing lack of evidence to support his claims, and therefore upheld Nana Addo’s victory.
John Mahama Publications, as a writer & communications expert
As a writer, Mr Mahama has continuously written for several newspapers and other publications both locally and internationally. When he was a Parliamentarian, he used to write as a columnist under the heading: Mahama’s Hammer — a semi-regular column in a Ghanaian newspaper.
He also has numerous essays published in the Daily Graphic, Ebony, Huffington Post, the Louisville Courier-Journal, the New York Times, and The Root.
Additionally, he was a featured speaker at the TEDx Great Pacific Garbage Patch Conference in Santa Monica.
John Dramani Mahama Books
- My First Coup d’État: Memories from the Lost Decades of Africa, published by Bloomsbury on July 3rd, 2012.
John Mahama Awards, Recognition, Honours
- In February 2017, Mahama received the 2016 African Political Leader of the Year Award from the African Leadership Magazine in South Africa
- He received an Honorary Doctorate in the field of Public Administration from the Ekiti State University of Nigeria, formerly affiliated to the Obafemi Awolowo University in “recognition of his politico-socio economic development of Ghana and Africa at various stages of his political career. Later on, the Ekiti university passed a resolution to name its Faculty of Management Science after John Mahama
- The Cuban government conferred on John Mamaha the “Friendship Medal” for his relentless advocacy for the Cuban cause, namely for the lifting of the 50-year economic embargo on the communist country and for the freedom of the detained Cuban five by the United States government
- Awarded the “Great Cross of the National Order of Benin” — the highest award in Benin by President Yayi Boni
- Honoured with “Daniel Award” by the General Council of Assemblies of God, Ghana.
- Awarded the “African Servant Leadership Award” by the Graduate School of Governance and Leadership while the Institute of Public Relations recognized Mahama with a prize for his leadership acumen and technocratic flair
- In 2013, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) conferred on Mahama the Africa Award for Excellence in Food Security and Poverty Reduction
- In March 2016, University of Aberdeen held a special convocation to confer an honorary degree of Doctors of Laws (LLD) on President John Mahama
- Mahama has also won many fellowships, including a study as a visiting scholar at The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
- John Mahama is also a Bill Gates Fellow
John Mahama website
John Mahama Twitter
@JDMahama or https://twitter.com/JDMahama
John Mahama Instagram
@officialjdmahama or https://www.instagram.com/officialjdmahama/
John Mahama Facebook
@JDMahama or https://web.facebook.com/JDMahama/
Source: George Awiadem Maclean | BieGyaNation.Com
