The National Democratic Congress will today rename its national headquarters in Accra in honour of its founder, the late Jerry John Rawlings, as the nation marks what would have been his 79th birthday.
In partnership with the J.J. Rawlings Foundation, the ruling party has confirmed that its Accra headquarters will be officially christened “Jerry Rawlings House.” The renaming will be accompanied by the unveiling of a bust of the former president, with the ceremony set to begin at 9:00 a.m. at the party’s headquarters.
This year’s commemoration runs under the theme “From Revolution to Fourth Republic: The Rawlings Legacy,” a title that captures the arc of Rawlings’ political journey — from the upheavals of the 1980s to the democratic dispensation he helped establish. President John Dramani Mahama is expected to lead proceedings, joined by senior party figures and party faithful gathering to honour the man many credit with shaping modern Ghanaian politics.
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Beyond the morning ceremony, the day’s commemorations will extend to the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, where a public lecture and exhibition will offer a more reflective look at Rawlings’ impact. Distinguished lawyer and academic Tsatsu Tsikata will deliver the keynote address, lending his characteristic depth of analysis to proceedings. He will be joined by former minister Akwasi Opong-Fosu and former Information Minister Kofi Totobi Quakyi, both of whom served close to the corridors of power during the Rawlings years and are expected to offer firsthand insight into his governance and political style.
Rawlings founded the NDC in 1992 and went on to serve as Ghana’s president from 1993 to 2001, a tenure that bridged the transition from military rule to constitutional democracy. Decades after leaving office, he remains one of the most consequential figures in the country’s political history — a leader whose influence continues to shape the party he built and the republic he helped found.
By renaming its headquarters in his honour, the NDC signals its intent to keep Rawlings’ legacy embedded not just in memory, but in the physical and institutional fabric of the party itself.