Ghana Gains Independence under the Leadership of Kwame Nkrumah
On 6 March 1957, the Gold Coast (now known as Ghana) gained independence from Britain. Ghana became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and was led to independence by Kwame Nkrumah who transformed the country into a republic, with himself as President-for-Life. The country was the first to gain independence from European colonialism. The flag of the newly independent state was designed with red, which signified those who had died for independence, the gold as the mineral wealth and with the green representing the rich grasslands of the area. The black star became the symbol of the people and of African emancipation.
Kwame Nkrumah, who was born on 21 September 1909, was a Ghanaian politician and a revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962.
After twelve years abroad pursuing higher education, developing his political philosophy, and organising with other diasporic pan-Africanists, Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast in 1947 to begin his political career as Secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention and an advocate of national independence. He was imprisoned until 1951, and after his release he formed the Convention People’s Party
