Timeline: Ghana

A chronology of key events:

1482 - Portuguese set up trading settlement.

GHANA'S MOST FAMOUS SON Kofi Annan: recognised the world over as the public face of the UN Profile: UN chief 1997 - 2006

1874 - British proclaim coastal area a crown colony.

1925 - First legislative council elections take place.

1957 March - Ghana becomes independent with Kwame Nkrumah as prime minister.

1960 - Ghana proclaimed a republic; Nkrumah elected president.

1964 - Ghana becomes a one-party state.

1966 - Nkrumah overthrown in military coup; Russian and Chinese technicians expelled.

1969 - New constitution facilitates transfer of power to civilian government led by Kofi Busia.

AFRICAN TRAIL BLAZER Kwame Nkrumah triggered a wave of liberation movements Hailed as hero when he led Ghana to independence in 1957 Fell from grace as economy collapsed and he became ever more authoritarian Ousted in 1966 On This Day 1957 Story of Africa - Independence

1972 - Busia ousted in military coup led by Colonel Ignatius Acheampong.

1978 - Acheampong forced to resign; General Frederick Akuffo takes over.

Rawlings era

1979 - Akuffo deposed in coup led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings. Acheampong and Akuffo tried and executed on charges of corruption.

1979 September - Rawlings hands over power to an elected president, Hilla Limann.

1981 - Limann ousted in military coup led by Rawlings after two years of weak government and economic stagnation.

1983 - Rawlings adopts conservative economic policies, abolishing subsidies and price controls, privatising many state enterprises and devaluing the currency.

1992 - Referendum approves new constitution introducing a multiparty system. Rawlings elected president.

1994 - One thousand people are killed and a further 150,000 are displaced in the Northern Region following ethnic clashes between the Konkomba and the Nanumba over land ownership.

COUP LEADER Airforce pilot Jerry Rawlings ruled for two decades 1979 - Ousted military, handed power to elected president 1981 - Seized power. Won elections in 1992 and 1996 Stood down in 2001 Leads main opposition party 2000: Rawlings - The legacy

1994 June - Seven ethnic groups involved in violence in Northern Region sign peace agreement.

1995 - Government imposes curfew in Northern Region as renewed ethnic violence results in a further 100 deaths.

1996 - Jerry Rawlings re-elected president.

Kufuor elected

2000 - December - John Kufuor beats Vice-President John Atta Mills in the presidential election.

2001 February - Petrol prices rise by 60% following the government's decision to remove fuel subsidies.

2001 April - Ghana accepts debt relief under a scheme designed by the World Bank and the IMF.

2001 May - National day of mourning after football stadium stampede leaves 126 dead. Inquiry blames police for overreacting to crowd trouble.

2001 June - Government scraps public holiday celebrating Rawling's military coup in an effort to wipe out the legacy of his rule.

Cape Coast, once a centre of the slave trade 2004: UN opens slavery remembrance year

2001 June - Floods hit Accra, causing 10 deaths and forcing 100,000 to flee their homes.

2002 April - State of emergency is declared in the north after a tribal chief and more than 30 others are killed in clan violence. State of emergency is lifted in August 2004.

2002 May - President Kufuor inaugurates reconciliation commission to look into human rights violations during military rule.

2003 October - Government approves merger of two gold-mining firms, creating new gold-mining giant.

2004 February - Former President Jerry Rawlings testifies at commission investigating human rights offences during the early years of his rule.

Accra, the capital, is renowned for its beaches, nightlife 1877: Becomes capital of Britain's Gold Coast colony Population: 1 million

2004 October - Group of current and former military personnel detained on suspicion of planning to destabilise government ahead of elections.

2004 December - Presidential poll: Incumbent John Kufuor wins a second term.

2005 April-May - Thousands of Togolese refugees arrive, fleeing political violence in their home country.

2006 April - A boat capsizes on Lake Volta reservoir; more than 100 passengers are feared drowned.

2006 June - Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promises to lend Ghana about $66m to fund development projects. He is on an African tour aimed at opening new export markets for China's booming economy and at securing energy and mineral supplies.

2007 March - Ghana celebrates 50 years of independence from Britain.

2007 June - Major off-shore oil discovery announced. President Kufuor says oil will turn Ghana into an "African tiger".

2007 September - The worst floods for more than 30 years cause widespread devastation, destroying much of the annual harvest.

2007 December - President Kufuor says off-shore oil reserves total 3 billion barrels.

2008 December - John Atta Mills, candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress, is elected president, narrowly winning a run-off vote against Nana Akufo-Addo, of incumbent President John Kufuor's New Patriotic Party.