Jonathan, Goodluck (1957-…), was president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. Jonathan, a member of the People’s Democratic Party, succeeded President Umaru Yar’Adua, who died in office. Jonathan had served as Yar’Adua’s vice president. Jonathan won the 2011 presidential election, but lost in 2015 to former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari.
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan was born on Nov. 20, 1957, in Otuoke (also spelled Otueke), a village in southern Nigeria’s Niger Delta. He was born to a Christian family of canoe makers from the Ijaw ethnic group. In Nigeria, children’s names often reflect circumstances of birth, cultural or religious beliefs, geography, or philosophy. Goodluck refers to his mother’s ease in childbirth and his father’s belief that good fortune would follow the child. Azikiwe refers to the Nigerian nationalist hero Nnamdi Azikiwe.
Jonathan studied at Nigeria’s University of Port Harcourt, earning a Ph.D. degree in zoology in 1995. He worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental protection officer before entering politics in 1998. Jonathan was elected deputy governor of his native Bayelsa state in 1999. He became governor in 2005, after the serving governor was impeached. In 2006, Yar’Adua, a Muslim from northern Nigeria, chose Jonathan as his presidential running mate.
During Jonathan’s presidency, Nigeria faced numerous problems, including political corruption and electric power shortages. Deadly attacks by Boko Haram, a terrorist organization that supports Muslim extremists in Nigeria, also plagued the nation.
