Nkrumah, Kwame, << ehn KROO muh, KWAH mee >> (1909-1972), was president of Ghana from 1960 to 1966. Army leaders ousted him in 1966, and Nkrumah went into exile in nearby Guinea. President Sékou Touré of Guinea made Nkrumah Guinea’s honorary president.
As president of Ghana, Nkrumah worked to develop the economy and improve living conditions. He promoted industrialization, introduced health and welfare programs, and expanded the educational system. But Nkrumah made enemies with the methods he used to achieve these goals. He imprisoned his opponents. Ghana’s economy began to weaken, and corruption became widespread. Army leaders took over the government while Nkrumah was visiting China.
Nkrumah was born in Nkroful, the Gold Coast. He led his country’s drive for independence from the United Kingdom in the 1950’s. He was prime minister of the Gold Coast and kept that office when the colony became Ghana, an independent country, in 1957. He died on April 27, 1972.
