The following is a brief introduction of the president-elect.
The 64-year-old candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won 50.23 percent of the votes cast in the Dec. 28 run-off, enjoying a slim margin over the 49.77 percent garnered by his mainrival Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Neither of the two won over 50 percent in the first round held on Dec. 7, leading to the run-off.
Mills, Ghana's vice president during 1997-2001, has also contested in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, but lost in both times to the NPP candidate John Agyekum Kufuor, the outgoing president.
Mills graduated from the University of Ghana, and furthered his studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London where he earned a PhD in Law. He was later selected as a Fullbright scholar at the Stanford Law School in the United States.
Between 1971 and 1980, Mills was a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, where he rose through the ranks to Associate Professor of Law in 1992.
From 1986 to 1993, Mills was also the Acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and the substantive Commissioner during 1993-1996. He was then selected as the running mate to former President Jerry Rawlings for the 1996 elections, and served as vice president from 1997 to 2001.
The president-elect has more than one dozen publications in the taxation and law fields to his credit. | |
President Mills
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People celebrate the election of John Atta Mills as Ghana's President at the Pure Fire Miracle Church in Achimota, Accra, January 4, 2009.
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Supporters of the opposition National Democratic Congress protest carry placards of presidential candidate John Atta-Mills at main gate leading to the headquaters of the Ghanaian Election Commission in Accra
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Supporters of John Atta Mills of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) celebrate their candidate in the district of Tain in northern Accra January 2, 2009. Electors in the final constituency to vote in Ghana's presidential run-off delivered a further blow on Friday to the ruling party, which was already trailing narrowly in the election and boycotted the ballot.
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President Atta Mills
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Supporters of the opposition National Democratic Congress drink champagne
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National Democratic Congress presidential candidate John Attah Mills votes at a polling station in Accra
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The Tain Constituency (Tain District
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National Democratic Congress supporters celebrate in Accra on December 29, 2008
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Nana Akufo-Addo (right), presidential candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party and John Attah Mills, candidate of the main opposition National Democratic Congress.
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