Ghana's President John Atta Mills

Ghana's President John Atta Mills, who has died at the age of 68, was known to his supporters as "The Prof" - a reference to his long academic career.

Born on 21 July 1944 at Tarkwa in western Ghana, Mr Atta Mills graduated in law at the University of Ghana in 1967 before studying further at the London School of Economics and receiving a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Mr Atta Mills later branched out into politics, becoming president after beating Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 elections.
It was third time lucky for Mr Atta Mills - the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party - in his campaign to become president.

Keen hockey player
He lost twice before - in the 2000 and 2009 election, and had been ridiculed by the opposition as a lackey of former Ghanaian military ruler Jerry Rawlings..