March 6th

On this day - March 6th 1957 - Ghana declared itself independent from the UK

The lad area which is Ghana today has a long and rich history, but in the 19th century became United Kingdom the colonial power of the region. In the 1900 was the borders set and the country was titled the British gold coast.  This lasted until 1957 when Ghana declared itself independent and thus became the first sub-saharan Africa country to declare itself independent from the European colonial powers. The independent country took the name Ghana which means Warrior King. Kwame Nkrumah was elected as the first president and he held this position until 1966 when he was overthrown in the first of many military coup. Ghana is one of the countries in the world that produces the most coca beans in the world, but the country is also a producer of oil and gas.  Happy birthday Ghana!

January 13th

On this day - 13th January 1972 - Ignatius Kutu Acheampong's military coup in Ghana

Ignatius Kutu Acheampong took over as the head of state in Ghana after a bloodless coup in Ghana in 1972. He overthrew the democratically elected government in Ghana at the time. During his rule implemented Acheampong the metric system of measurement, he implemented right side driving and a program aimed at achieving self-sustainability in agriculture for Ghana. Corruption was also a common policy during his rule. He held the position as head of state until July 1978 when he deposed in a palace coup by his former Chief of Defense staff. In July 1979 was Acheampong executed by firing squad.

Former head of state in Ghana, Akufo-Addo, who Acheampong overthrew in 1972