Kufuor, John Kofi Agyekum

Kufuor, John Kofi Agyekum, 1938–, Ghanaian political leader. A lawyer educated at Lincoln's Inn, London, and Oxford, he served in Ghana's parliament (1969–72, 1979–81) between periods of military rule and was detained after the coups of 1972 and 1981. Kufuor was the New Patriotic party's presidential candidate in 1996, but lost to President Jerry Rawlings. In 2000 Kufuor ran again and defeated Vice President John Mills in an election that was Ghana's first democratic transfer of power since independence; he was reelected (again running against Mills) in 2004. As president Kufuor has focussed on economic reforms designed to promote growth and reduce inflation.