Political analysts and election observers have tipped John Dramani Mahama as the front-runner for the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) presidential candidate position in what seems to be a third straight comeback to the presidential campaign.
On May 13, he will compete against Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, a former finance minister, and Kojo Bonsu, a former chief executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.
The fourth president of Ghana's Fourth Republic was Mr. Mahama.
On December 7, 2012, he was duly elected to a four-year term (January 7, 2013–January 6, 2017).
Under the late President John Evans Atta Mills, the former president had previously held the office of vice president.
On July 24, 2012, President Atta Mills passed away, and he gained control of the government and the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Ghanaian Armed Forces.
Under the leadership of the previous president, Mahama, Ghana underwent a tremendous infrastructure development effort that has given the nation a strong foundation for its future as a lower middle-income country.
He led the nation through a peaceful transition at the conclusion of his tenure in office, highlighting the resilience and strength of Ghana as a democratic exemplar.
born and educated
On November 29, 1958, the former president Mahama was born in Damongo, in the Savannah Region. His late father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, was the first Member of Congress from Under President Kwame Nkrumah, the first Regional Commissioner of the Northern Region served as Parliament for the West Gonja Constituency.
After finishing primary school at the Achimota School in Accra, the young John Dramani Mahama relocated to the Northern Region to enrol at the Ghana Secondary School in Tamale, where he pursued his GCE credentials for the Ordinary and Advanced levels.
After that, he studied history at the University of Ghana, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981.
At the University of Ghana's School of Communication Studies, he continued his studies by starting Postgraduate Studies in Communication, which he completed in 1986.
His desire to learn led him to Moscow, Russia, where he obtained a postgraduate certificate in social psychology from the Social Sciences Institute.
Mr. Mahama enjoys reading, writing, and history.
He has published a number of books and written for a few newspapers during the course of his career.
His first book, a memoir titled "My First Coup D'etat and Other True Stories from the Lost Decades of Africa," was released a few years ago.
Mr. Mahama believes that the mix of his studies in history, communication, and social psychology have profoundly influenced the way he thinks and perceives the human condition and have greatly shaped the man he is today.