Ignatius Kutu Acheampong
Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (also Akeyampong ; born September 23, 1931 in Kumasi , † June 16, 1979 in Accra ) was head of state of Ghana from 1972 to July 5, 1978 .
soldier
Acheampong worked after school from 1945 to 1951 in a sawmill in Kumasi and attended college at the same time. In 1951 he joined the army of what was then the British colony of the Gold Coast. After Ghana's independence in 1957, he attended courses in England and was also stationed with the British armed forces in Germany for a while before returning to his homeland as a lieutenant . In 1960 and 1961 he took part in the United Nations Operation in Congo . He was also sent to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas for further training .
In 1966 he was involved in the military coup against President Kwame Nkrumah without playing a leading role. For the next five years he was chairman of the administrative committee for western Ghana. In 1971 he became the commander of an infantry brigade.
head of state
January 13, 1972, Colonel Acheampong led the military coup against President Edward Akufo-Addo and his Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia . The overthrown government had made itself unpopular by a drastic devaluation of the local currency Cedi . Acheampong took this measure back and announced that it would no longer service foreign debts in future. As chairman of the Junta National Redemption Council , he became the new head of state and later promoted himself to general. The junta was renamed the Supreme Military Council on October 9, 1975 , with Acheampong remaining chairman.
During his reign some programs to improve infrastructure and training took place. In addition, the previous imperial system was abolished in favor of the metric system of units , as well as left-hand traffic from the British era . His government was said to have a high level of corruption , and since the beginning of 1977 there has been increasing resistance to the military government . On March 30, 1978, his plans for a mixed government (Union Government) made up of the military and civilians were approved in a referendum with a majority of around 60 percent of the votes cast. A palace revolt by other military officials put an end to his rule on July 5, 1978. Chief of Staff Fred Akuffo succeeded him. Acheampong was accused of bad economic policies and banished to his hometown.
After Jerry Rawlings' coup on June 16, 1979, he, the other two ex-heads of state, Afrifa and Akuffo, and five other generals were shot dead . In April 2001, President John Agyekum Kufuor ordered the bodies of those shot to be exhumed so that the families could have an orderly burial. Kufuor was a deputy minister of the civil government, which was overthrown by Acheampong in January 1972.
See also
Web links
- Frontline about coups in Ghana (English)
- The BBC on the planned exhumation, April 30, 2001 (English)
- Ignatius Kutu Acheampong in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Acheampong, Ignatius Kutu |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Acheampong, Ignatius Kutu Kwasi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Ghanaian politician, head of state of Ghana |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 23, 1931 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kumasi |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 16, 1979 |
| Place of death | Accra |