Ghana (Commonwealth realm)

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Ghana was a Commonwealth realm between 6 March 1957 and 1 July 1960, before it became the Republic of Ghana. It was the first western African country to achieve independence.

British rule ended in 1957, when the Ghana Independence Act 1957 transformed the British Crown Colony of the Gold Coast into the independent sovereign Commonwealth realm of Ghana.^[1]^[2] The British monarch remained head of state, and Ghana shared its Sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of Ghana. The royal succession was governed by the English Act of Settlement of 1701.^[1]^[2] The following governors-general held office in Ghana during the commonwealth realm period:

Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (6 March – 24 June 1957)
William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel (24 June 1957 – 1 July 1960)

A referendum was held on 27 April 1960, with 88.47% percent of the Ghanaian people voting in favour of a republic, 11.53% against. The republic was declared and the monarchy abolished on 1 July 1960.

Elizabeth II did not reside in or visit Ghana between 1957 and 1960, but she did visit:

1961 (9–20 November): as Head of the Commonwealth
1999 (7–9 November): as Head of the Commonwealth

Kwame Nkrumah held office as prime minister (and head of government). Following the abolition of the monarchy, a presidential election was held, which Nkrumah won, and subsequently he became the first President of Ghana.

References

1 2 "Heads of State of Ghana (1957 – To Date)". Ghananation.com.
1 2 "Queen Elizabeth II (1952 – )". Britroyals.com.

Commonwealth realms and dominions

Current	Antigua and Barbuda (monarchy) Australia (monarchy) Bahamas (monarchy) Barbados (monarchy) Belize (monarchy) Canada (monarchy) Grenada (monarchy) Jamaica (monarchy) Realm of New Zealand Cook Islands New Zealand Niue Papua New Guinea (monarchy) St. Kitts and Nevis (monarchy) St. Lucia (monarchy) St. Vincent and the Grenadines (monarchy) Solomon Islands (monarchy) Tuvalu (monarchy) United Kingdom (monarchy)

Former	Ceylon Fiji (monarchy) The Gambia Ghana Guyana India¹ Ireland¹ (monarchy) Kenya Malawi Malta Mauritius Newfoundland² Nigeria Pakistan Rhodesia³ Sierra Leone South Africa (monarchy) Tanganyika Trinidad and Tobago Uganda

¹ Dominion, became republic before adoption of the term "realm" ² Dominion, never ratified Statute of Westminster 1931, London-based external government 1934–1949, annexed by Canada in 1949 ³ Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence as a realm in 1965, but this was not recognised internationally. Declared itself a republic in 1970.

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