Jerry John Rawlings, who seized power twice in military coups but is now regarded as a driving force behind Ghana’s emergence as a stable democracy, has died at the age of 73 reut.rs/3lqPTmt 1/5 
His takeovers in 1979 and 1981 were marked by authoritarian rule and the executions of senior military officers, including General Frederick Akuffo, whom he overthrew in the first coup 2/5
But Rawlings went on to oversee Ghana’s transition to multi-party democracy, winning election in 1992 and 1996 before stepping down in 2001. Today, Ghana is considered one of West Africa’s most mature democracies and regularly sees power change hands between its main parties 3/5
As president, he liberalized Ghana’s economy, encouraging investment in the oil and gold sectors. In 2001, he handed over power to John Kufuor of the opposition party who had defeated Rawlings’ vice president in the previous year’s election 4/5
After stepping down, Rawlings remained a power broker in Ghanaian politics while serving in various international diplomatic posts, including as the African Union’s representative in Somalia. Read more reut.rs/3lqPTmt 5/5
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