Kwame Nkrumah

(b. Nkroful, Gold Coast, 28 Sept. 1909; d. 27 Apr. 1972) Ghanaian; Prime Minister 1952 – 60, President 1960 – 6 Born into the small Nzima ethnic group Nkrumah studied and worked in the USA and Britain and became a significant figure in pan-Africanist circles in both. He returned home in 1947 to become general secretary of the newly established United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). Following disagreements with more conservative members of the UGCC he broke away in 1949 to form his own Convention People's Party (CPP). Under his leadership the CPP built a mass base of support becoming the leading nationalist party in the territory. Following success in the 1951 elections he became leader of government business, and the following year Prime Minister. The CPP maintained its majority electoral support and at independence in 1957 he became Prime Minister of the new state of Ghana. Following constitutional change in 1960 he became the country's first President.

Nkrumah's career after independence combined an international and a domestic role. At the international level he was he most important African nationalist leader of his generation and was inspirational throughout Africa. He was the leading supporter of pan-African unity and worked tirelessly, but ultimately unsuccessfully, to bring about the political union of the emerging states of Africa. Domestically his rule was predominantly negative. He inherited one of the strongest economies in Africa but by the time he lost power Ghana was plunging towards economic collapse as a result of the inefficiency and corruption of its, predominantly state-run, economic enterprises. His regime became increasingly authoritarian. As early as 1958 he introduced a preventative detention act which allowed for arrest without charge and imprisonment without trial. Potential centres of opposition including the trade unions, the judiciary, and the universities were brought under tight government control and the media was rigidly censored. In 1964 he declared a single-party state and installed himself as "President for Life". His self-granted titles included "the redeemer" and "the initiator of the African personality". He is credited with writing a large number of books but most (if not all) were ghost-written for him by his acolytes.

In 1966 he was overthrown by a military coup d'état whilst he was attending a meeting in Beijing. At the invitation of his close friend President Sekou Toure he went into exile in Guinea and subsequently died of cancer in a Romanian hospital in 1972. His international reputation and prominence greatly outstripped his domestic political performance.

Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) was the first president of Ghana. Though he effected Ghana's independence and for a decade was Africa's foremost spokesman, his vainglory and dictatorial methods brought about his downfall in 1966, with him a discredited and tragic figure in African nationalism.

The career of Kwame Nkrumah must be seen in the context of the Africa of his period, which sought a dynamic leader but lacked the structures that would make possible the common goal of continental unity. Ghana's and Africa's very inadequacies initially made them insensitive to Nkrumah's failings, conspicuous among which was the ever-widening gap between his rhetoric, which called for a socialist revolution, and his practice, which accommodated itself to the worst aspects of tribal and capitalist traditions.

Preparation for Leadership

Kwame Nkrumah, whose original name was Francis Nwia Nkrumah, was born on Sept. 21, 1909, into the tiny Nzima tribe; his origins, although clouded by controversy, were indisputably humble. His early education was in Catholic mission schools and in a government training college. In 1935, after teaching for several years, with the help of friends and the example of Nnamdi Azikiwe (later Nigeria's first president), Nkrumah left for Lincoln University in the United States.

By this time, Nkrumah was already the most radical of the young "Gold Coasters," resenting deeply the exploitative aspects of colonialism. But it was during the years at Lincoln, and the ensuing ones as a graduate student in philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, that he was to give substance to his feelings by studying, as he later wrote, "revolutionaries and their methods" (such as Lenin, Napoleon, Gandhi, Hitler, and, most important, Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican whose followers proclaimed him "provisional president of Africa"). Nkrumah never obtained a thorough grounding in any field and never really demonstrated the intelligence and sensitivity that would have demanded discipline in his thinking. This combination of an inferior schooling and a less than first-rate mind made possible the eclectic and incoherent ideological thought seen in his later writings on "Nkrumaism."

Nkrumah's formal political activity started in America but only began in earnest in London, where he went for further studies in 1945. While in England, he edited a pan-African journal, was vice president of the West African students' union, and helped organize the Fifth Pan-African Conference in Manchester. There, too, George Padmore, the important former-Communist pan-Africanist, became his mentor and was a crucial restraining influence until he died in 1959.

Gold Coast Leader

In 1947 Nkrumah had his chance to return to Africa in a position of leadership. The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), a conservative nationalist movement, invited him to be general secretary. He arrived on Nov. 14, 1947. With weak British leadership and the postwar recession, the Gold Coast was ripe for more radical leadership, which Nkrumah ably provided. Riots in early 1948 resulted from economic grievances but were blamed on the UGCC leadership. Nkrumah and others, including Joseph B. Danquah, who later died in one of Nkrumah's political jails, were detained side by side.

After their release later that year, the UGCC leadership demoted Nkrumah, who responded by organizing the Committee on Youth Organization, which (composed of his now numerous admirers) provided the nucleus of Nkrumah's personal support. The inevitable rupture between Nkrumah and the UGCC came in June 1949. At an emotion-packed meeting, the Convention People's party (CPP) was born, with Nkrumah its leader.

The 1948 riots speeded the pace of political reform. Yet Nkrumah, always the radical, rejected proposals for a new Gold Coast constitution. He proposed to precipitate a crisis through "positive action": his followers took the cue and agitated for immediate self-government, leading to a state of emergency and Nkrumah's detention once again by the British. But reform ensued, and the first national elections were held in 1951. The CPP triumphed, thanks to brilliant organization and to the symbol of its incarcerated leader; on Feb. 12, 1951, Nkrumah was released from prison and made "leader of government business." A wholly new period began, in which the principle of ultimate independence was no longer in question.

Power was divided between Nkrumah, who was renamed prime minister in 1952, and the governor. This diarchy symbolized Nkrumah's dilemma of the reconciliation of his image as a revolutionary with his close relationship with the imperial authority. Although this gap was papered over with rhetoric, it always existed in some form. A new enemy of Nkrumah's power appeared in 1954-1956 in the form of a conservative, tribally based political movement derived from the UGCC which even tried to delay independence. The need to struggle for the "political kingdom" against domestic forces intensified Nkrumah's desire for revenge and for total power. Marxist ideology became his congenial and increasingly convenient justification.

Search for the Political Kingdom

On March 6, 1957, the Gold Coast became independent as Ghana. Although Nkrumah was the prime minister (the governor-general was British) and had the governmental machinery in his hands, watchful British and domestic eyes cautioned him from attempting, for example, to transform the professional civil service into a personal political tool. But in the next 3 years he did much - he called two pan-African conferences, made state tours throughout Africa and to America and Britain, and accelerated educational and social development - and with all of this his power grew. He used a preventive detention act to detain many members of Parliament and supporters of the opposition, and by 1960 it took considerable courage to oppose him.

Debate in Africa and in the West, particularly Britain, over the colonial independence movement and the ability of Africans to govern themselves frequently became a debate over Nkrumah and his professed democratic goals. In 1960 a plebiscite made Ghana a republic with a new constitution, and an election resembling a plebiscite made Nkrumah its first president.

President of the Republic

With the founding of the republic on July 1, 1960, Nkrumah had achieved the political kingdom from which "all else" - in pan-African, domestic, and international policy - was to follow. Pan-African concerns had been laid aside during the struggle for domestic power. Now having established firm control of the republic, Nkrumah could center his activity on the uniting of the continent. But other states with their own leaders and heroes had now emerged, and they resented the constant advice from Accra; nor were they likely to surrender their newly won sovereignty to a great union.

Precisely as the new states consolidated their own positions, and as union became less and less a practicable proposition, Nkrumah's insistence on, and his absorption in, the "Union Government" cause grew. Nkrumah sincerely resented Africa's weakness and sought to prevent its "Latin-Americanization," but his method, his ambition, and the ill-defined nature of his goals doomed the obsession. "Union Government" became a joke in Africa. Thus Ghana's own diplomatic position eroded until, in 1963, it was even denied a position of eminence in the new Organization of African Unity. Yet in the more radical states, Nkrumah himself remained an honored statesman until 1964, when Julius Nyerere, the prestigious president of Tanzania, publicly denounced him in strident terms. After this, nothing sacred was left either of the cause or of the man.

In domestic affairs, the new constitution had been amended by fiat after the plebiscite so as to bestow dictatorial powers on the "Osagyefo" (redeemer - Nkrumah's self-advocated title). In the ensuing years, the remaining opposition within and without his party were detained, driven to exile, or frightened into silence. A small coterie of expatriate and Ghanaian Marxists pressed him to make Ghana Africa's first Communist state and as quid pro quo honored "Nkrumaism." Assassination attempts in 1962 and 1964 made Nkrumah accelerate his timetable for the building of socialism. The first attempt led to a new intimacy in relations with the Communist world and his own public advocacy of "scientific socialism"; the second led to a plebiscite making Ghana a one-party state.

The caution and inconsistency that had always characterized Nkrumah's statecraft remained. Moderates - and rich businessmen - could successfully cloak their sentiments in flattery. The steadily deteriorating financial situation, combined with the reluctance of Nikita Khrushchev's more cautious successors in the Kremlin to bail Nkrumah out, preserved his ultimate dependence on the West. Instinctively opposed to breaking diplomatic relations with Britain over the Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) question, Nkrumah was forced to do so in order to appear to remain in the vanguard of African radicalism. Actions, not motivations, counted.

Exile and Death

The momentum of Nkrumah's actions, symbolized by the break with Britain, threatened the independence of the army and the police; early on Feb. 24, 1966, three days after Nkrumah had left on a gratuitous peace mission to Vietnam, they toppled the regime, outlawed the party, and announced that "the myth of Kwame Nkrumah is ended forever." The jubilant populace destroyed Nkrumah's statues and renamed the many roads, circles, buildings - even universities - that had borne his name. From a dreary exile in Guinea, Nkrumah ineffectually tried to rally Ghana against the new regime. Though initially proclaimed "copresident of Guinea" on his arrival, a gesture of sentiment, Nkrumah soon found himself watched, isolated, without even his Egyptian wife of 8 years. He died in Conakry, Guinea, on April 27, 1972.

Yet Ghana could no more remove the memory and effects of 15 years of its remarkable first leader than Nkrumah could remove the memories and structures of Ghana's colonial and traditional past. On the negative side were the heavy debts that the country had accrued.

More positively, there were the schools and universities, the Volta Dam, and the aluminum industry which Nkrumah had dreamed of in the 1950s and through persistence had seen through. And, he had given most Ghanaians a sense - and pride - of nationhood in the 1950s and had given people of African blood throughout the world a new pride in their color. Ironically, he had wanted to unite and lead a continent, but he founded a nation; of its small size he was continually embarrassed. Yet it is by his successes and failures as leader of that country that his biographers must ultimately judge him.

Further Reading

Nkrumah's autobiography, Ghana (1957), is probably the most revealing picture of him. His subsequent books became increasingly less important as he relied more and more on others to compose them. His I Speak of Freedom (1961) is largely a compilation of speeches; Africa Must Unite (1963) is a paean to his Ghanaian accomplishments; Consciencism (1964), probably written by two African Marxists and launched with fanfare and rapidly abandoned, attempts to give African nationalism a Marxist ideological context; and Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (1965) was widely thought to have been unread by its purported author. Nkrumah's subsequent books, published in exile, are essentially the tracts of a bitter man, although Challenge of the Congo (1967) is useful for some important documentary material.

There is no significant intimate study of Nkrumah. A balanced account of his regime, written by T. Peter Omari, a Ghanaian sociologist on the United Nations staff, is Kwame Nkrumah: The Anatomy of an African Dictatorship (1971). A brief study of Nkrumah is in Dankwart A. Rustow, ed., Philosophers and Kings: Studies in Leadership (1970). A slender, important specialized work, written by a European who was chief of the defense staff of the Ghanaian army, reveals much about Nkrumah's ambitions: H. T. Alexander, African Tightrope: My Two Years as Nkrumah's Chief of Staff (1966).

Nkrumah is best studied in the context of the forces of his time. Dennis Austin, Politics in Ghana: 1946-1960 (1964), is the standard work. An essential study is George Padmore, Pan-Africanism or Communism (1956); and David E. Apter, The Gold Coast in Transition (1955; rev. ed. entitled Ghana in Transition, 1963), is excellent for the domestic politics of Ghana and the transfer of institutions to the new nationalism. Nkrumah as pan-Africanist and diplomatist is examined in W. Scott Thompson, Ghana's Foreign Policy, 1957-1966: Diplomacy, Ideology, and the New State (1969).

Additional Sources

Assensoh, A. B., Kwame Nkrumah: six years in exile, 1966-1972, Ilfracombe: Stockwell, 1978.

Donkoh, C. E., Nkrumah and Busia of Ghana, S.l.: s.n., 1974 (Accra: New Times Corp..

Kanu, Genoveva., Nkrumah the man: a friend's testimony, Enugu, Anambra State, Nigeria: Delta of Nigeria, 1982.

Meyer, Joe-Fio N., Dr. Nkrumah's last dream: continental government of Africa, Accra: Advance Pub., 1990.

Rooney, David., Kwame Nkrumah: the political kingdom in the Third World, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, 1988.

Timothy, Bankole., Kwame Nkrumah, from cradle to grave, Dorchester, Dorset: Gavin Press, 1981.

head of state

Personal Information

Born September 18, 1909, in Nkroful, British West Africa; died of cancer, April 27, 1972, in Bucharest, Romania.
Education: Attended Roman Catholic missionary schools; attended Government Training College, Accra, 1926-30; Lincoln University, B.A., 1939; Lincoln Theological Seminary, B.A., 1942; received M.A. and M.S. from University of Pennsylvania.

Career

Began career as a teacher at Roman Catholic schools and seminary, Gold Coast, 1930-35; traveled to United States, 1935, to attend Lincoln University; organized and became president of African Students Association; returned to Gold Coast, 1947; became secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention (political party); established Convention People's Party (CPP), 1949; elected prime minister of Gold Coast, 1951, reelected 1954 and 1956; became head of state when Gold Coast achieved independence as Ghana, 1957; overthown by military coup, 1966, and forced into exile; named joint head of state of Guinea by Sekou Toure while in exile.

Life's Work

Even decades after his death in 1972, Kwame Nkrumah remains a symbol of the movement for African independence that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. He assumed a position of leadership in the struggle for African freedom by becoming prime minister of the Gold Coast--the first African-born prime minister of a sub-Saharan British dependency. When the Gold Coast achieved independence as Ghana in 1957, Nkrumah became its head of state. Within a few years, he attained cult figure status and became the country's sole decision-maker. Nkrumah wrote extensively and was a leading philosopher of Pan-Africanism, the movement toward African unity. Though generally recognized as a brilliant leader, he was overthrown by a bloodless military coup when his policies led to widespread discontent in his own country.

Nkrumah grew up in a typical African village. Although records of his exact date of birth in 1909 vary and are not considered official, he reportedly celebrated his birthday on September 18. Nkrumah attended a local elementary school run by a Roman Catholic mission, where he was baptized. He did well at school and became a pupil teacher. In 1926 he was sent to the Government Training College (GTC) in the seaport city of Accra, which later became the capital of Ghana. Two years later, the GTC became part of Achimota College, a Christian foundation open to all Africans. It was a challenging curricula, and Nkrumah took part in such extracurricular activities as drama and debate.

Around this time he became exposed to the Pan-African ideas of American social and political activist W.E.B. Du Bois and Jamaican black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Nkrumah left Achimota in 1930 and took a teaching post at Elmina Roman Catholic primary school. After a series of promotions, he joined the staff of the Catholic seminary at Amisso in 1933.

In 1935, having failed the entrance examination for London University, Nkrumah decided to apply to an American university. On the advice of Dr. Azikiwe, a Nigerian journalist who had attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, he applied there. With the aid of his extended African family, he was able to travel to America and enroll at Lincoln. It was the beginning of ten difficult years in America.

Nkrumah graduated from Lincoln in 1939 with a bachelor's degree in economics and sociology. He took a post as an assistant lecturer in philosophy to support himself. He also enrolled in graduate classes at the Lincoln Theological Seminary and at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1942 he graduated as the top student from the seminary in the bachelor of theology program. He also earned master's degrees in philosophy and education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Devoting more time to political activities, Nkrumah joined a group of African students and helped it become the national African Students Association, of which he was elected president. He participated in several conferences on the independence and development of Africa and began setting down his political and philosophical ideas in a pamphlet that would be published in 1962 as Towards Colonial Freedom. Completed during his stay in London in 1946, the work reflects a wide variety of revolutionary influences and denounced Britain's colonial rule in Africa.

In 1947 the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was established, and Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast from London to become its secretary. This national movement was essentially middle-class in origin and conservative in its policies. Within two years, Nkrumah broke from this moderate organization and, together with like-minded radicals, formed the Convention People's Party (CPP), which adopted the slogan "Self-Government Now." It was supported by many segments of Gold Coast society that wished to see the end of British rule, including army veterans, small traders, and other nationalists.

Nkrumah's protests were eventually successful. After the British jailed him in 1950 for political agitation, they allowed a new national constitution to be drafted, with elections to be held in February of 1951. Although still under arrest, Nkrumah became the continent's first African-born prime minister. After winning the 1951 election, Nkrumah's CPP went on to win subsequent elections in 1954 and 1956.

Nkrumah pressed for full independence, and on March 6, 1957, the Gold Coast became the first black African colony to be liberated from British rule. It merged with the former British Togoland to form Ghana. As the initial experiment in independent African democratic socialism, Ghana was subject to high expectations, and Nkrumah assumed a position of leadership among African as well as Western intellectuals and ideologues.

During the first years of his rule, Nkrumah and the CPP were faced with opposition in the form of the United Party (UP). In general, the CPP was socialistic in nature and sought to centralize power and ownership in the government. The UP, on the other hand, championed a federalist philosophy that would allow for a greater distribution of power; the party also espoused the cause of Ghana's capitalists, supporting private ownership and a competitive free market system. With Ghana's economy largely based on the production of cocoa, the UP found strong support among the nation's cocoa farmers, who opposed the CPP's state-controlled cocoa marketing system.

Nkrumah and the CPP set about to weaken their opposition. Opposition leaders who would not merge or compromise with the CPP were eventually harassed or placed in preventive detention. The Preventive Detention Act of 1958 enabled the government to imprison opponents for up to five years without a trial. Press censorship was practiced, and the right to hold public meetings was sharply curtailed. The CPP, with headquarters in Accra, became the center of the nation's political activity. The party's central committee became responsible for selecting members of parliament and filling other government positions.

A wide range of institutions were created or influenced by the CPP to gain more control over Ghana's population. Through party appointments, the CPP put its own people into positions such as regional commissioners, district commissioners, and town or local development committee posts. The CPP also created a wide range of functional groups, including the Ghana Trade Union Congress, the United Ghana Farmers Council, the Young Pioneers, the Workers Brigade, and organizations for women, all of which worked to neutralize the opposition. In case these measures failed, vigilante groups garnered support for the CPP with the aid of Nkrumah's private security forces.

By 1960 Nkrumah and the CPP had consolidated their power and were ready to implement their political policies. The government's policies were guided by Nkrumah's personal philosophy, which came to be known as Nkrumahism. According to Ghana: Coping with Uncertainty, "Nkrumahism rejected the rigidity of existing traditional institutions and opposed all manifestations of colonialism, neocolonialism, and external interference." In other words, Nkrumah opposed the influence of outside powers on his country. He steadfastly resisted the exertion of political or economic power on Ghana from any other source.

The basic tenets of Nkrumahism included socialism as the path to further development and unity with other emerging African nations as the way to achieve power in the international arena. As described in Ghana: Coping with Uncertainty, "Nkrumahism rested on several pillars: an outright attack on underdevelopment, the rapid expansion of state intervention in the economy, industrialization as the key to economic growth, and diversification of foreign contacts."

Nkrumahism became an instrument in the development of the cult of personality that surrounded Nkrumah. Eventually, it was seen to be an abstract vision rather than a force that could provide the necessary guidelines for dealing with Ghana's political and economic realities.

In 1961 Nkrumah nationalized Ghana's cocoa trade, thus beginning the implementation of his socialist policies. A broad class of state corporations was established to further industrialization and economic growth. These state-linked corporations included agricultural units, external trade organizations, distribution networks, and marketing monopolies.

Unfortunately, Ghana's economic problems began around this time as well. The world cocoa price was falling, and imports and government expenditures increased while proceeds from exports began to decline. A bare bones spending plan or "austerity budget" was introduced. The government borrowed heavily and passed the Compulsory Savings Act, which deducted five percent for savings from workers' paychecks. When introduced in September of 1961, this deduction led to a general strike on the part of workers.

A combination of socialist policies and various external factors led to a serious decline in Ghana's economy. According to Ghana: Coping with Uncertainty, "Production in government plants during the 1961-66 period declined, the foreign debt burden grew at an alarming pace, real urban wages were cut by half, sectoral imbalances were magnified, and in the name of socialism, gold mines, plantations, and even Accra's laundries were nationalized, draining resources and generating no return. Agricultural production stagnated and in some cases dropped."

Nkrumah implemented an active foreign policy to bring Ghana from the periphery of world affairs to a more important role in the struggle for African liberation and unity. He was instrumental in the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), underwriting preliminary conferences on African unity and developing personal ties with other African leaders. He balanced his ties with the West by participating in the Afro-Asian movement and strengthening his relations with the Soviet bloc.

By expanding the range and scope of Ghana's international ties, Nkrumah hoped to break Ghana's inherited dependency on external forces. In the early 1960s more than 60 ambassadors were placed in foreign capitals, and a special Bureau of African Affairs was created. Nkrumah's explicitly global perspective was designed to bring about an improvement in conditions in all of Africa as well as in Ghana.

The workers' strikes of 1961 were led by the same groups that had helped bring Nkrumah to power. When the government's efforts to placate the workers were ineffective, the trade unions were joined in their opposition by religious groups that protested the attribution of godlike qualities to Nkrumah. At the same time, policy conflicts intensified within the CPP. In August of 1962 an attempt was made on Nkrumah's life at Kulungugu in Ghana's Upper Region. As a result, Nkrumah came to distrust the moderate elements within the CPP and relied more on the party's radicals, resulting in greater isolation from his supporters.

In the trial following the Kulungugu assassination attempt, the major suspects were found not guilty. Overreacting to the decision, Nkrumah dismissed the nation's chief justice and rushed a bill through the National Assembly that gave him the power to set aside any judgment in the nation's courts. Effectively demolishing the country's independent judiciary, Nkrumah seemed to be embarking on a course leading to dictatorship. His actions alienated many of his supporters, especially the United States and Great Britain.

In January of 1964 a referendum was held to make Ghana a one-party state. It passed, and Ghana legally became a one-party socialist state. However, the vote on the referendum was reportedly rigged, revealing how much power was concentrated in the hands of Nkrumah. Another assassination attempt was made by one of Nkrumah's own guards. When there was a flurry of military activity around Accra, security concerns escalated. Angry demonstrations against the U.S. embassy followed reports that capitalist forces were trying to overthrow Nkrumah. Four American professors were subsequently dismissed from the University of Ghana at Legon. During this period, Nkrumah was welcoming more Russians to Accra and strengthening his ties to the communist states of Europe's Eastern bloc while again denouncing the imposition of power on African states by other nations.

During 1964 and 1965 Nkrumah became involved in attempts to end the Vietnam War. He had good relations with the Chinese and Vietnamese leaders as well as with the Western powers. Nkrumah was forced to put his peace plans on hold, however, when rumors of more coup attempts surfaced.

Around the same time, political turmoil was brewing in the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia. A white minority government declared independence in 1965, and over the next few years efforts to control and segregate the country's African population increased. Ghana supported the OAU during the Rhodesian crisis and broke off diplomatic relations with Great Britain. Nkrumah's attempts to mobilize the military to prepare for war with Rhodesia only exacerbated the problems he was having with Ghana's armed forces.

On February 1, 1966, Nkrumah made his last address to the National Assembly. Preoccupied with a proposed visit to Hanoi, North Vietnam, Nkrumah was by this time isolated from the OAU and virtually at war with his neighbors in West Africa. He left the Accra airport for China on his way to Hanoi on February 21, 1966, and a few days later the Ghanaian army and police staged a coup, thereby seizing power from him. Nkrumah learned of the coup from the Chinese when he arrived in Peking.

Nkrumah accepted an offer of security from Guinean leader Sekou Toure, who made him the joint head of state of Guinea, and Nkrumah carried on the African revolutionary struggle there. He also continued to write during his exile in Guinea and frequently made broadcasts to the people in his homeland of Ghana over the "Voice of Revolution" radio station.

In 1968 Nkrumah set up a publishing company to publish his books. His writings became more revolutionary and extreme. His final philosophy was published in The Class Struggle in Africa in 1970, in which he views the African revolution as part of the world socialist revolutionary process. Later that year Nkrumah became seriously ill. Diagnosed with cancer, he went through a long period of severe suffering before he died on April 27, 1972, in Bucharest.

Works

Writings

• The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson, 1957.
• I Speak of Freedom, Panaf, 1961.
• Towards Colonial Freedom, Heinemann, 1962.
• Consciencism, Panaf, 1964.
• Africa Must Unite, Panaf, 1964.
• Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, Panaf, 1965.
• Challenge of the Congo, Panaf, 1967.
• Axioms, Panaf, 1967.
• Voice from Conakry, Panaf, 1967.
• Dark Days in Ghana, Panaf, 1968.
• The Class Struggle in Africa, Panaf, 1970.
• Revolutionary Path, International, 1973.

Further Reading

Books

• Hadjor, Kofi Buenor, Nkrumah and Ghana: The Dilemma of Post-Colonial Power, Kegan Paul International, 1988.
• McKown, Robin, Nkrumah: A Biography, Doubleday, 1973.
• Pellow, Deborah, and Naomi Chazan, Ghana: Coping with Uncertainty, Westview, 1986.
• Rooney, David, Kwame Nkrumah: The Political Kingdom in the Third World, St. Martin's, 1988.
• Smertin, Yuri, Kwame Nkrumah, International, 1987.

• Time, May 8, 1972.
• Newsweek, May 8, 1972.
• Nation, June 5, 1972.

— David Bianco

(1909-72) The first Prime Minister (1957-60) and subsequently the first President (1960-6) of the West African state of Ghana. Nkrumah gained worldwide prominence both as a proponent of African liberation and as one of the leading advocates of Pan-Africanism. After studies in the United States and in Great Britain, Nkrumah returned to Ghana 1947 and founded the Convention People's Party. During the 1950s this movement helped organize several major strikes which pressured the British colonial authorities to grant a greater degree of self-government in Ghana. After achieving independence in 1957, following a brief period of multi-party democracy, Nkrumah transformed Ghana into a one-party state, setting a pattern which would be followed in many other newly independent African states. He also imposed major restrictions on civil liberties at this time. Throughout his political career, Nkrumah was an ardent advocate of the ideology of Pan-Africanism, helping to found the Organization of African Unity in 1963. In the economic realm, Nkrumah promoted a strategy of rapid industrialization, and the keystone of this was the massive Volta Dam project which dramatically increased Ghana's electricity production. Ultimately, despite the completion of the Volta Dam, Nkrumah's attempt to move Ghana into producing heavy industrial goods proved a failure. The Ghanaian economy in these years also lapsed into a period of macroeconomic instability with very high rates of inflation. Due in large part to these economic failures, Nkrumah was overthrown by a military coup in 1966.

— David Stasavage

(click to enlarge)
Nkrumah, 1962 (credit: Marc and Evelyne Bernheim/Woodfin Camp and Associates)

(born September 1909, Nkroful, Gold Coast — died April 27, 1972, Bucharest, Rom.) Nationalist leader and president of Ghana (1960 – 66). Nkrumah worked as a teacher before going to the U.S. to study literature and socialism (1935 – 45). In 1949 he formed the Convention People's Party, which advocated nonviolent protests, strikes, and noncooperation with the British authorities. Elected prime minister of the Gold Coast (1952 – 60) and then president of independent Ghana, Nkrumah advanced a policy of Africanization and built new roads, schools, and health facilities. After 1960 he devoted much of his time to the Pan-African movement, at the expense of Ghana's economy. Following an attempted coup in 1962, he increased authoritarian controls, withdrew from public life, increased contacts with communist countries, and wrote works on political philosophy. With the country facing economic ruin, he was deposed in 1966 while visiting Beijing.

For more information on Kwame Nkrumah, visit Britannica.com.

Nkrumah, Kwame (1909-72). After university education in the USA, Nkrumah helped to organize the fifth Pan-African Congress in Britain in 1945. Returning to the Gold Coast in 1947 he founded the populist Convention Peoples' Party. Imprisoned after organizing a campaign of non-cooperation in 1950, he was elected to Parliament in 1951 and was released from detention, becoming prime minister of the Gold Coast in 1952. He remained in office when the country, renamed Ghana, gained its independence in 1957, and became president of the Republic of Ghana in 1960. His financial extravagance and increasingly authoritarian rule led to his overthrow in 1966.

The president of Ghana in the 1960s and a leader of the Pan-African movement, which opposed white domination of Africa and promoted a feeling of shared identity among black Africans. He was deposed by a military coup in Ghana in 1966.

Quotes:

"The best way of learning to be an independent sovereign state is to be an independent sovereign state."

"We prefer self-government with danger to servitude in tranquility."

"It is far easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the needle's eye, hump and all, than for an erstwhile colonial administration to give sound and honest counsel of a political nature to its liberated territory."

"Revolutions are brought about by men, by men who think as men of action and act as men of thought."

This article's introduction section may not adequately summarize its contents. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (October 2008)

Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah on a Soviet postage stamp
1st Prime Minister of Ghana
In office March 6, 1957 – 1 July 1960
Monarch	Queen Elizabeth II (colonial head) represented by the following: Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (6 March - 24 June 1957) Lord Listowel (24 June 1957 - 1 July 1960)
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Position abolished
1st President of Ghana First Republic
In office 1 July 1960 – 24 February 1966
Preceded by	Queen Elizabeth II
Succeeded by	Lt. Gen. J. A. Ankrah (Military coup d'état)
Born	21 September 1909(1909-09-21) Nkroful, Gold Coast
Died	27 April 1972 (aged 62) Bucharest, Romania
Political party	Convention Peoples' Party
Spouse(s)	Fathia Rizk
Children	Francis, Gamal, Samia, Sekou
Profession	Lecturer

Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 - 27 April 1972)^[1], was an influential 20th century advocate of Pan-Africanism, and the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966.

Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Return to the Gold Coast 3 Independence 4 Politics 5 Economics 6 Decline and fall 7 Exile, death and tributes 8 Works by Kwame Nkrumah 9 Further reading 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

Early life and education

In 1909, Kwame Nkrumah was born to Madam Nyaniba ^[2][3] in Nkroful, Gold Coast.^[4] Nkrumah graduated from the prestigious Achimota School in Accra in 1930,^[1] studied at a Roman Catholic Seminary, and taught at a Catholic school in Axim. In 1935 he left Ghana for the United States, receiving a BA from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in 1939, where he pledged the Mu Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and received an STB (Bachelor of Sacred Theology) in 1942. Nkrumah earned a Master of Science in education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942, and a Master of Arts in philosophy the following year. While lecturing in political science at Lincoln he was elected president of the African Students Organization of America and Canada. As an undergraduate at Lincoln he participated in at least one student theater production and published an essay on European government in Africa in the student newspaper,The Lincolnian.^[5]

During his time in the United States, Nkrumah preached at black Presbyterian Churches in Philadelphia and New York City. He read books about politics and divinity, and tutored students in philosophy. Nkrumah encountered the ideas of Marcus Garvey, and in 1943 met and began a lengthy correspondence with Trinidadian Marxist C.L.R. James, Russian expatriate Raya Dunayevskaya, and Chinese-American Grace Lee Boggs, all of whom were members of a US based Trotskyist intellectual cohort. Nkrumah later credited James with teaching him 'how an underground movement worked'.

He arrived in London in May 1945 intending to study at the LSE. After meeting with George Padmore, he helped organize the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England. Then he founded the West African National Secretariat to work for the decolonization of Africa. Nkrumah served as Vice-President of the West African Students' Union (WASU).

Over his lifetime, Nkrumah was awarded honorary doctorates by Lincoln University, Moscow State University; Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt; Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland; Humboldt University in the former East Berlin; and other universities.

Return to the Gold Coast

In the autumn of 1947, Nkrumah was invited to serve as the General Secretary to the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) under Joseph B. Danquah. This political convention was exploring paths to independence. Nkrumah accepted the position and sailed for the Gold Coast. After brief stops in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast, he arrived in the Gold Coast in December 1947.

In February 1948, police fired on African ex-servicemen protesting the rising cost of living. The shooting spurred riots in Accra, Kumasi, and elsewhere. The government suspected the UGCC was behind the protests and arrested Nkrumah and other party leaders. Realizing their error, the British soon released the convention leaders. After his imprisonment by the colonial government, Nkrumah emerged as the leader of the youth movement in 1948.

After his release, Nkrumah hitchhiked around the country. He proclaimed that the Gold Coast needed "self-government now", and built a large power base. Cocoa farmers rallied to his cause because they disagreed with British policy to contain swollen shoot disease. He invited women to participate in the political process at a time when women's suffrage was new to Africa. The trade unions also allied with his movement. By 1949, he organized these groups into a new political party: The Convention People's Party.

The British convened a selected commission of middle class Africans to draft of a new constitution that would give Ghana more self-government. Under the new constitution, only those with sufficient wage and property would be allowed to vote. Nkrumah organized a "People's Assembly" with CPP party members, youth, trade unionists, farmers, and veterans. They proposed called universal franchise without property qualifications, a separate house of chiefs, and self-governing status under the Statute of Westminster. These amendments, known as the Constitutional Proposals of October 1949, were rejected by the colonial administration.

When the colonial administrator's rejected the People's Assembly's recommendations, Nkrumah organized a "Positive Action" campaign in January 1950, including civil disobedience, non-cooperation, boycotts, and strikes. The colonial administration arrested Nkrumah and many CPP supporters, and he was sentenced to three years in prison.

Facing international protests and internal resistance, the British decided to leave the Gold Coast. Britain organized the first general election to be held under universal franchise on 5-10 February 1951. Though in jail, Nkrumah's CPP was elected by a landslide taking 34 out of 38 elected seats in the Legislative Assembly. Nkrumah was released from prison on 12 February, and summoned by the British Governor Charles Arden-Clarke, and asked to form a government on the 13th. The new Legislative Assembly met on 20 February, with Nkrumah as Leader of Government Business, and E.C. Quist as President of the Assembly. A year later, the constitution was amended to provide for a Prime Minister on 10 March 1952, and Nkrumah was elected to that post by a secret ballot in the Assembly, 45 to 31, with eight abstentions on 21 March. He presented his "Motion of Destiny" to the Assembly, requesting independence within the British Commonwealth "as soon as the necessary constitutional arrangements are made" on 10 July 1953, and that body approved it.

Independence

Nkrumah and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As a leader of this government, Nkrumah faced three serious challenges: first, to learn to govern; second, to unify the nation of Ghana from the four territories of the Gold Coast; third, to win his nation’s complete independence from the United Kingdom. Nkrumah was successful at all three goals. Within six years of his release from prison, he was the leader of an independent nation.

At 12 a.m. on 6 March 1957, Nkrumah declared Ghana independent. Nkrumah was hailed as "Osagyefo" - which means "redeemer" in the Twi language.^[6]

On 6 March 1960, Nkrumah announced plans for a new constitution which would make Ghana a republic. The draft included a provision to surrender Ghanaian sovereignty to a union of African states. On 19, 23, and 27 April 1960 a presidential election and plebiscite on the constitution were held. The constitution was ratified and Nkrumah was elected president over J. B. Danquah, the UP candidate, 1,016,076 to 124,623. In 1961, Nkrumah laid the first stones in the foundation of the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute created to train Ghanaian civil servants as well as promote Pan-Africanism. In 1963, Nkrumah was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union. Ghana became a charter member of the Organization of African Unity in 1963.

The Gold Coast had been among the wealthiest and most socially advanced areas in Africa, with schools, railways, hospitals, social security and an advanced economy. Under Nkrumah’s leadership, Ghana adopted some socialistic policies and practices. Nkrumah created a welfare system, started various community programs, and established schools.

Politics

He generally took a non-aligned Marxist perspective on economics, and believed capitalism had malignant effects that were going to stay with Africa for a long time. Although he was clear on distancing himself from the African socialism of many of his contemporaries; Nkrumah argued that socialism was the system that would best accommodate the changes that capitalism had brought, while still respecting African values. He specifically addresses these issues and his politics in a 1967 essay entitled "African Socialism Revisited":

Billboard in Zambia with Nkrumah's non-alignment quote: "We face neither East nor West; We face forward" (Taken in May 2005)

"We know that the traditional African society was founded on principles of egalitarianism. In its actual workings, however, it had various shortcomings. Its humanist impulse, nevertheless, is something that continues to urge us towards our all-African socialist reconstruction. We postulate each man to be an end in himself, not merely a means; and we accept the necessity of guaranteeing each man equal opportunities for his development. The implications of this for socio-political practice have to be worked out scientifically, and the necessary social and economic policies pursued with resolution. Any meaningful humanism must begin from egalitarianism and must lead to objectively chosen policies for safeguarding and sustaining egalitarianism. Hence, socialism. Hence, also, scientific socialism."^[7]

Nkrumah was also perhaps best known politically for his strong commitment to and promotion of Pan-Africanism. Having been inspired by the writings and his relationships with black intellectuals like Marcus Garvey, W. E. B. Du Bois, and George Padmore. With perhaps Nkrumah's biggest success in this area coming with his significant influence in the founding of the Organization of African Unity.

Economics

Main article: Economy of Ghana

Nkrumah attempted to rapidly industrialize Ghana's economy. He reasoned that if Ghana escaped the colonial trade system by reducing dependence on foreign capital, technology, and material goods, it could become truly independent. Unfortunately, industrialization hurt the country’s cocoa sector. Many economic projects he initiated were unsuccessful, or with delayed benefits. The Akosombo Dam was expensive, but today produces most of Ghana's hydroelectric power. Nkrumah's policies did not free Ghana from dependence on Western imports. By the time he was deposed in 1966, Ghana had fallen from one of the richest countries in Africa, to one of the poorest.

Decline and fall

The year 1954 was a pivotal year during the Nkrumah era. In that year's independence elections, he tallied some of the independence election vote. However, that same year saw the world price of cocoa rise from £150 to £450 per ton. Rather than allowing cocoa farmers to maintain the windfall, Nkrumah appropriated the increased revenue via federal levies, then invested the capital into various national development projects. This policy alienated one of the major constituencies that helped him come to power.

In 1958 Nkrumah introduced legislation to restrict various freedoms in Ghana. After the Gold Miners' Strike of 1955, Nkrumah introduced the Trade Union Act, which made strikes illegal. When he suspected opponents in parliament of plotting against him, he wrote the Preventive Detention Act that made it possible for his administration to arrest and detain anyone charged with treason without due process of law in the judicial system.

When the railway workers went on strike in 1961, Nkrumah ordered strike leaders and opposition politicians arrested under the Trade Union Act of 1958. While Nkrumah had organized strikes just a few years before, he now opposed industrial democracy because it conflicted with rapid industrial development. He told the unions that their days as advocates for the safety and just compensation of miners were over, and that their new job was to work with management to mobilize human resources. Wages must give way to patriotic duty because the good of the nation superseded the good of individual workers, NKrumah's administration contended.

Nkrumah Hall at the University of Dar es Salaam in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Detention Act led to widespread disaffection with Nkrumah’s administration. Some of his associates used the law to arrest innocent people to acquire their political offices and business assets. Advisers close to Nkrumah became reluctant to question policies for fear that they might be seen as opponents. When the clinics ran out of pharmaceuticals, no one notified him. Some people believed that he no longer cared. Police came to resent their role in society. Nkrumah disappeared from public view out of a justifiable fear of assassination. In 1964, he proposed a constitutional amendment making the CPP the only legal party and himself president for life of both nation and party. The amendment passed with over 99 percent of the vote. In any event, Ghana had effectively been a one-party state since becoming a republic, but the amendment transformed Nkrumah's presidency into a de facto legal dictatorship.

Nkrumah's advocacy of industrial development at any cost, with help of longtime friend and Minister of Finance, Komla Agbeli Gbedema, led to the construction of a hydroelectric power plant, the Akosombo Dam on the Volta River in eastern Ghana. American companies agreed to build the dam for Nkrumah, but restricted what could be produced using the power generated. Nkrumah borrowed money to build the dam, and placed Ghana in debt. To finance the debt, he raised taxes on the cocoa farmers in the south. This accentuated regional differences and jealousy. The dam was completed and opened by Nkrumah amidst world publicity on 22 January 1966. Nkrumah appeared to be at the zenith of his power, but the end of his regime was only days away.

Nkrumah wanted Ghana to have modern armed forces, so he acquired aircraft and ships, and introduced conscription.

He also gave military support to those fighting the Smith administration in Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia. In February 1966, while Nkrumah was on a state visit to North Vietnam and China, his government was overthrown in a military coup, which was backed by the CIA.^[8][9][10] Today, Nkrumah is one of the most respected leaders in African history. In 2000, he was voted Africa's man of the millennium by listeners to the BBC World Service.

Exile, death and tributes

Memorial to Kwame Nkrumah in Accra

Nkrumah never returned to Ghana, but he continued to push for his vision of African unity. He lived in exile in Conakry, Guinea, as the guest of President Ahmed Sékou Touré, who made him honorary co-president of the country. He read, wrote, corresponded, gardened, and entertained guests. Despite retirement from public office, he was still frightened of western intelligence agencies. When his cook died, he feared that someone would poison him, and began hoarding food in his room. He suspected that foreign agents were going through his mail, and lived in constant fear of abduction and assassination. In failing health, he flew to Bucharest, Romania, for medical treatment in August 1971. He died of skin cancer in April 1972 at the age of 62.

Accra Memorial Close Up

Nkrumah was buried in a tomb in the village of his birth, Nkroful, Ghana. While the tomb remains in Nkroful, his remains were transferred to a large national memorial tomb and park in Accra.

Works by Kwame Nkrumah

• "Negro History: European Government in Africa," The Lincolnian, 12 April, 1938, p. 2 (Lincoln University, Pennsylvania) - see Special Collections and Archives, Lincoln University
• Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957) ISBN 0-901787-60-4
• Africa Must Unite (1963) ISBN 0-901787-13-2
• African Personality (1963)
• Neo-Colonialism: the Last Stage of Imperialism (1965) ISBN 0-901787-23-X
• Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah (1967) ISBN 0-901787-54-X
• African Socialism Revisited (1967)
• Voice From Conakry (1967) ISBN 90-17-87027-3
• Handbook for Revolutionary Warfare (1968) - first introduction of Pan-African pellet compass
• Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology for De-Colonisation (1970) ISBN 0-901787-11-6
• Class Struggle in Africa (1970) ISBN 0-901787-12-4
• The Struggle Continues (1973) ISBN 0-901787-41-8
• I Speak of Freedom (1973) ISBN 0-901787-14-0
• Revolutionary Path (1973) ISBN 0-901787-22-1

Further reading

• Birmingham, David. Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (Athens: Ohio University Press), 1998.
• Tuchscherer, Konrad. "Kwame Francis Nwia Kofie Nkrumah", Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators, ed. by Frank J. Coppa (New York: Peter Lang), 2006, pp. 217–220.
• Davidson, Basil. "Black Star - A View of the Life and Times of Kwame Nkrumah" (James Currey Publishers, Oxford UK) 1973.
• Mwakikagile, Godfrey. Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era, Third Edition (Pretoria, South Africa: New Africa Press), 2006, Chapter Twelve, "Nyerere and Nkrumah: Towards African Unity," pp. 347–355.
• Poe, D. Zizwe. Kwame Nkrumah's Contribution to Pan-African Agency (New York: Routledge), 2003.

See also

• Nkrumah government
• List of Ghana Heads of state by age
• Fathia Nkrumah

References

1. ^ ^{a b} E. Jessup, John. An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, 1945-1996. pp. 533. 
2. ^ "Rulers - Nkrumah, Kwame". Lists of heads of state and heads of government. Rulers.org. http://rulers.org/indexn2.html#nkrum. Retrieved 2007-03-24. 
3. ^ Asante Fordjour (6 March, 2006). "Nkrumah And The Big Six". Feature Article. Ghana Home Page. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=100491. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
4. ^ Yaw Owusu, Robert (2005). Kwame Nkrumah's Liberation Thought: A Paradigm for Religious Advocacy in Contemporary Ghana. pp. 97. 
5. ^ Special Collections and Archives, Lincoln University.
6. ^ Zimmerman, Jonathan (2008-10-23). "The ghost of Kwame Nkrumah". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/23/opinion/edzimmerman.php. Retrieved 2008-10-23. 
7. ^ African Socialism Revisited by Kwame Nkrumah 1967
8. ^ Botwe-Asamoah, Kwame. Kwame Nkrumah's Politico-Cultural Thought and Politics: An African-centered Paradigm for the Second Phase of the African Revolution. Page 16.
9. ^ Carl Oglesby and Richard Shaull. Containment and Change. Page 105.
10. ^ Interview with John Stockwell in Pandora's Box: Black Power (Adam Curtis, BBC Two, 22 June 1992)

External links

• Ghana-pedia webpage - Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
• Ghana-pedia webpage - Operation Cold Chop: The Fall Of Kwame Nkrumah
• Dr Kwame Nkrumah
• Excerpt from Commanding Heights by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw
• Timeline of events related to the overthrow of Kwame Nkruma
• The Kwame Nkrumah Lectures at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, 2007
• Kwame Nkrumah Information and Resource Site
• Ghana re-evaluates Nkrumah by The Global Post
• Dr Kwame Nkrumah's Midnight Speech on the day of Ghana's independence - 6 March 1957

Party political offices
New title	Leader of the Convention People's Party 1948 – 1966	Succeeded by Parties banned
Political offices
New title	Prime Minister of the Gold Coast 1952 – 1957	Succeeded by Himself as Prime Minister of Ghana
Preceded by Himself as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast	Prime Minister of Ghana 1957–1960	Succeeded by Himself as President
Preceded by Himself as Prime Minister	President of Ghana 1960–1966	Succeeded by Lt. Gen. Joseph A. Ankrah Military Head of State
New title	Foreign Minister 1957 – 1958	Succeeded by Kojo Botsio
Preceded by Ebenezer Ako-Adjei	Foreign Minister 1962 – 1963	Succeeded by Kojo Botsio
Preceded by Gamal Abdel Nasser	Chairperson of the Organization of African Unity 1965 – 1966	Succeeded by Joseph Arthur Ankrah

Links to related articles v • d • e      Heads of state and Prime Ministers of the Republic of Ghana      Presidents (1960-) Nkrumah • Ankrah † • Afrifa † • Ollennu* • Akufo-Addo • Acheampong † • Akuffo † • Rawlings † • Limann • Rawlings • Kufuor • Mills Prime Ministers Kwame Nkrumah (1957-60) • Kofi Abrefa Busia (1969-72) † military     * interim v • d • e      The Big Six (Ghana) Ebenezer Ako-Adjei    •   Edward Akufo-Addo    •   J. B. Danquah    •   Kwame Nkrumah    •   Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey    •   William Ofori Atta v • d • e Chairpersons of the Organization of African Unity and the African Union (AU) Selassie · Nasser · Nkrumah · Ankrah · Selassie · Mobutu · Boumédienne · Ahidjo · Kaunda · Daddah · Hassan II · Gowon · Barre · Amin · Ramgoolam · Bongo · Nimeiry · Tolbert · Senghor · Stevens · Moi · Mengistu · Nyerere · Diouf · Nguesso · Kaunda · Traoré · Mubarak · Museveni · Babangida · Diouf · Mubarak · Ben Ali · Meles · Biya · Mugabe · Compaoré · Bouteflika · Eyadéma · Chiluba · Mwanawasa · Mbeki · Chissano · Obasanjo · Nguesso · Kufuor · Kikwete · al-Gaddafi v • d • e Pan-Africanism Proponents Politicians: Nnamdi Azikiwe · Amílcar Cabral · Muammar al-Gaddafi · Marcus Garvey · David Comissiong · Kenneth Kaunda · Jomo Kenyatta · Patrice Lumumba · Thabo Mbeki · Abdias do Nascimento · Kwame Nkrumah · Julius Nyerere · John Nyathi Pokela · Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia · Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe · Ahmed Sékou Touré · I.T.A. Wallace-Johnson Others: Molefi Kete Asante · Steve Biko · Onwutalobi Anthony-Claret · Edward Wilmot Blyden · John Henrik Clarke · Cheikh Anta Diop · W. E. B. Du Bois · Frantz Fanon · John G. Jackson · Yosef Ben-Jochannan · Sankofa Juba · Maulana Karenga · Akwatu Khenti · Bob Marley · Malcolm X · Zephania Mothopeng · George Padmore · Dr Motsoko Pheko · Runoko Rashidi · Walter Rodney · Burning Spear · Henry Sylvester-Williams · Stokely Carmichael · Omali Yeshitela Concepts United States of Africa · Afrocentrism · Kwanzaa · Pan-African colours · Pan-African flag · Négritude · African nationalism · African socialism · African Century · Africanization · Kawaida  · Ujamaa  · Harambee  · Ubuntu  · Zikism Organizations African Union (OAU) · Uhuru Movement · UNIA-ACL · African Unification Front · International African Service Bureau

Persondata
NAME	Nkrumah, Kwame
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ngonloma, Francis Nwia Kofi
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Pan Africanist and First Prime Minister and President of Ghana
DATE OF BIRTH	September 21, 1909(1909-09-21)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Nkroful, Western Region, Ghana
DATE OF DEATH	27 April 1972
PLACE OF DEATH	Bucharest, Romania

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