Atta-Mills 'desires to serve'

2009-01-07 14:05

Accra - Tenacity has paid off for John Atta-Mills, who takes over on Wednesday as Ghana's new leader, emerging victorious from his third attempt at the presidency.

Family members say Atta-Mills, a former vice-president to the mercurial and charismatic ex-leader Jerry Rawlings, grew up with a "desire to serve others, especially the under-privileged".

The soft-spoken 64-year-old politician and law professor - who ran under the slogan "A Better Man for a Better Ghana" - had previously lost twice to the outgoing head of state John Kufuor, in 2000 and again in 2004.

"The one negative thing one can raise about Mills is the perception that he is under the control of Rawlings, and that perception cost him two elections," said a senior Ghanaian journalist who asked not to be named.

There have been concerns about his health after he reportedly overcame a battle with cancer. One newspaper wrongly reported earlier this year that he had died in South Africa.

Most Ghanaians were at a loss to say anything negative about their new president other than that he lacks charisma.

Atta-Mills rose to prominence in 1997 when Rawlings named him vice president - a position he held until the former coup leader-turned-elected president made way for Kufuor after the 2000 elections.

Representing the National Democratic Congress, Atta-Mills, popularly referred to as "The Prof", sees himself as transparent, humble and willing to learn from his mistakes.

He based his campaign on a call for change and a move towards what he called "welfarism and a people-centred approach to managing the affairs of state".

On the eve of his inauguration however, he said he would continue the policies of the outgoing president.

"The Prof I know is very comfortable with people who were part of our background - the farmers, the fisherman, people who are poor," said his brother, Cadman Atta-Mills. "He has always been down to earth."

Although Ghana - the home of former UN secretary general Kofi Annan - is hailed as a model of prosperity and stability in West Africa, Mills, who studied law in London, says the economy is not faring at all well.

A democracy advocate describes Atta-Mills, who once headed the national revenue collection agency, as "principled" and "not corruptible".

He has more than a dozen publications to his credit, many of them on taxation.

His affable, down-to-earth style disguises an "exceptional academic brilliance and an incredible athletic prowess", his brother said.

After finishing his law studies in Britain, Atta-Mills came home to teach law for 25 years at Ghana university.

A football fanatic like so many other Ghanaians, he is also an avid hockey player and swims almost daily for about two hours. He served on the board of one Ghana's top football clubs, Hearts of Oak and also supports English Premier League side Manchester United.

Atta-Mills is married and has a 19-year-old son.

- AFP