This Day in History: February 12, 1951
Additional Date: February 12, 1951
Kwame Nkrumah was arrested for leading a disturbing ‘positive action’ campaign in Ghana against British rule in 1950. He was released to lead the newly formed government a year later on 12 February 1951, after his party, the Convention People's Party (CPP), won the 1951 elections. As leader of the new government, Nkrumah prioritised unifying the four territories of the Gold Coast, as Ghana was previously known. He led the decolonisation process until the country achieved independence in 1957. Under his leadership, Ghana prospered. He was responsible for the building of new schools, railways, hospitals, a system for social security and an advanced economy. A firm believer in African liberation, Nkrumah pursued a radical pan-African policy, playing a key role in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity(now African Union -AU) in 1963. Nkrumah was deposed in a military coup in 1966. He died from skin cancer in 1972.