Ghana's History Part 3 / Republic of Ghana (2000-2008) In the year 2000, the people of the Republic of Ghana were ready for another general election. After 11 years of Jerry John Rawlings ruling as a military dictator and serving two terms in office as a democratically elected President, which was 8 years, it was time for a change of government. Rawlings had ruled from 1981 to the year 2000 spending almost 20 years in power. So a general election took place in December of 2000 with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) coming out on top with their flag bearer John Agyekum Kufour winning the election. John Agyekum Kufour was sworn in January 2001 and assumed office. President John Kufour brought stability, economic growth, and further development to the Republic of Ghana. Kufour was praised for massive infrastructure development, as well as attracting foreign investment. The improvement in agriculture was astonishing and there was a better management of our two main exports, gold and cocoa. He also changed the Ghana cedi currency, converting it into a new Ghana cedi which had the same value and equated with the old one, thus making transactions faster and easier. Kufour was also responsible for helping create the Golden Jubliee, which was established in 2007 when Ghana celebrated 50 years of independence from Britain (the United Kingdom). Just as Rawlings did, John Kufour served two terms in office and was getting ready to leave office in late 2008.