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Hilla Limann | |
|---|---|
 Limann in 1981 | |
| 8th President of Ghana | |
| In office 24 September 1979 – 31 December 1981 | |
| Vice President | Joseph W.S. de-Graft Johnson |
| Preceded by | Jerry Rawlings (as Head of State) |
| Succeeded by | Jerry Rawlings (as Head of State) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hilla Babini (1934-12-12)12 December 1934 |
| Died | 23 January 1998(1998-01-23) (aged 63) Accra, Ghana |
| Political party | People's National Party |
| Spouse | Fulera Limann |
| Education | London School of Economics University of London (BA) Sorbonne University (Dipl.) University of Paris (PhD) |
Hilla Limann,GCMG (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998)[1] was aGhanaian diplomat and politician who served as the eighthpresident of Ghana from 1979 to 1981. He previously served as a diplomat inLomé and inGeneva.[2][3]
Limann, whose original last name was Babini, was born in the northernGold Coast town ofGwollu in theSissala West District of theUpper West Region. Limann completed his basic school education at the Government Middle School,Tamale, in 1949. Between 1957 and 1960, he studiedpolitical science at theLondon School of Economics. He subsequently completed a diploma in French at theSorbonne University, France.[2] He also obtained aBA (Hons) degree in history at theUniversity of London and aPh.D. in political science andconstitutional law at theUniversity of Paris.[2]
Limann held the position of head of Europe Desk at theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana between 1965 and 1968.[4] During 1967, he was a member of the Constitution Commission which drafted the 1969 Constitution of Ghana. In 1968, he became the head ofChancery/Official Secretary at the Ghana embassy inLomé, Togo. He was appointed counsellor at Ghana's Permanent Mission inGeneva, Switzerland in 1971. He assumed the position of head of Europe, Americas, and Southeast Asia Desk back in Ghana at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in June 1975.[3]
Following the1979 coup led byJerry Rawlings, Limann waselected President on thePeople's National Party ticket and had strong support among followers of former Ghana PresidentKwame Nkrumah.[5] He stood for the elections following the disqualification ofAlhaji Imoru Egala by the then rulingSupreme Military Council and won 62% of the popular vote in the second round of voting.[6]
Dr. Limann assumed office as president on 24 September 1979. He was an economic moderate, and supported democratic values andPan-Africanism. He was deposed in acoup by Rawlings on 31 December 1981. He thus was the only president of the third republic of Ghana.[7]
In 1992, at the end of thePNDC military rule that overthrew him, Dr. Limann once again found himself involved in politics and stood as the candidate of thePeople's National Convention, a new party he founded, in thepresidential election that year. He received 6.7% of the popular vote in the elections, coming third.[6] He remained active among the Nkrumahist political movement in Ghana until his death.
After the handover ceremony in 1979, Military intelligence personnel consistently reported destabilising activities of former members of theAFRC. Dr. Limman insisted that there were no legal justifications to hold them in custody under a democratic dispensation. This decision eventually cost him the presidency and the years of humiliation and alienation he suffered at the hands of the Rawlings administration.[citation needed]
Limann had chronic health problems and later died of natural causes. He was survived by his wife, Fulera Limann, and seven children: Lariba Montia (née Limann), Baba Limann, Sibi Andan (née Limann), Lida Limann, Daani Limann, Zilla Limann and Salma Limann. He was buried at private burial ceremony in his home town,Gwollu in theSisala District of theUpper West Region at midnight on 1 March 1998. A government delegation led by the then Minister of Defence, AlhajiMahama Iddrisu were present to mourn with the family.[8]
The Hilla Limann Foundation is a charity that was launched on the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of his presidency in September 2019. Its aims are to end the abuse of human rights through education, championing the cause of human development for the poor and vulnerable, engender enlightenment about true democracy and promote the awareness of human rights.[9]
Limann was honoured with theKnight Grand Cross of St Michael and St George byElizabeth II,Queen of the United Kingdom in 1981.[10] The same year, he was awarded theOrder of the Yugoslav Great Star.[11]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jerry Rawlings Military Head of state | President of Ghana 1979 – 1981 | Succeeded by Jerry Rawlings Military Head of state |
| Party political offices | ||
| First | People's National Party presidential candidate 1979 | Parties banned |
| First | People's National Convention presidential candidate 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Queen (1957–1960) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| President of the First Republic (1960–1966) | ||
| Military regime (1966–1969) | ||
| President of the Second Republic (1969–1972) | ||
| Military regime (1972–1979) | ||
| President of the Third Republic (1979–1981) | ||
| Military regime (1981–1993) | ||
| President of the Fourth Republic (from 1993) | ||
*Acting President | ||
