ACCRA -- Ghana's President John Atta Mills has died unexpectedly, a presidential statement said, and an aide said his death occurred on Tuesday after he took ill on Monday night.
The death of the president of the world's No. 2 cocoa grower comes months before Mills was due to stand for re-election at the helm of the West African country that posted double-digit growth in 2011 and has been praised for its strong democracy in a turbulent region.
Vice President John Dramani Mahama was scheduled to be sworn in later Tuesday. According to the country's constitution, Mahama will complete Mills' term that was due to end with elections in December.
"It is with a heavy heart ... that we announce the sudden and untimely death of the president of the Republic of Ghana," a statement sent to Reuters by the president's office said.
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It said that Mills, 68, died a few hours after being taken ill but no further details were given.
A presidential aide, who asked not to be named, said the president had complained of pains on Monday evening and died early on Tuesday afternoon when his condition worsened.
Mills, who oversaw the start of oil production in Ghana, returned from medical checks in the United States several weeks ago.
The BBC reported he had recently suffered from throat cancer.
Mills was married to Ernestina Naadu Mills, an educator, and has a son, Sam Kofi Atta Mills, according to his official online profile.
In March, President Barack Obama received the Ghanaian president in the Oval Office and praised him and his country as "a good-news story" in Africa.
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said it "learned with sadness" about Mills' death.
"Our thoughts go to his family and to the people of Ghana, who have lost a beloved leader," said Victoria Nuland, State Department spokeswoman.
Ghana's election commission said December's presidential and parliamentary elections would go ahead as planned.
"The election calendar remains unchanged - it's purely a party matter," election chief Kwadwo Afari-Gyan told Reuters, explaining that it was up to the ruling National Democratic Congress to find a candidate to replace Mills.
Ghana has seen democratic elections decide its leadership no fewer than four times since the last military coup in 1981, a rare feat in a region where power is still just as often determined by the bullet as by the ballot.
Neighbor Ivory Coast has not been so peaceful, suffering months of violence last year after a disputed election. Near-neighbors Liberia and Sierra Leone suffered years of war.
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| Ghana President John Atta Mills speaking at the U.N. |
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