Nkrumah, Kwame (1909-1972)

Memorial in Ghana to Kwame Nkrumah, revolutionary and former president. Nkrumah was a progressive thinker and envisioned a United States of Africa uniting the continent. He became Ghana's first president in 1960 but was deposed by a coup in 1966.

Ghanaian nationalist politician, prime minister of the Gold Coast (Ghana's former name) 1952-57 and of newly independent Ghana 1957-60. He became Ghana's first president in 1960 but was overthrown in a coup in 1966. His policy of ‘African socialism’ led to links with the communist bloc.

Originally a teacher, he studied later in both the UK and the USA, and on returning to Africa formed the Convention People's Party (CPP) in 1949 with the aim of immediate self-government. He was imprisoned in 1950 for inciting illegal strikes, but was released the same year. As president he established an authoritarian regime and made Ghana a one-party (CPP) state in 1964. He then dropped his stance of non-alignment and drew closer to the USSR and other communist countries. Deposed from the presidency while on a visit to Beijing (Peking) in 1966, he remained in exile in Guinea, where he was made a co-head of state until his death, but was posthumously ‘rehabilitated’ in 1973.