English: John Dramani Mahama (/məˈhɑːmə/ (audio speaker iconlisten); born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as president on 24 July 2012 following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills. Mahama is a communication expert, historian, and writer. He is a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who was a Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi from 1997 to 2009 and served as Deputy Minister for Communication between 1997 and 1998 before becoming the substantive Minister for Communications from 1998 to 2001. Mahama is the first vice president to take over the presidency from the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills, and is the first head of state of Ghana to have been born after Ghana's independence. He was elected after December 2012 election to serve as full-time President. He contested re-election for a second term in the 2016 election, but lost to the New Patriotic Party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, in 2012. This made him the first President in the history of Ghana to not have won a second term.