Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was elected President of Ghana in the December 2016 elections, and took office in January of 2017. He received a Bachelor's in Economics from the University of Ghana in 1964 and received a law degree in the UK. After practicing law in France, he returned home in 1975 to Accra to continue with his legal career.  His firm championed human rights, rule of law, justice, freedom, and democracy, and Akufo-Addo became well-known for giving free legal assistance to the poor. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant advocates in the history of the Ghanaian Bar. Akufo-Addo worked for the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice (PMFJ), which led the “NO” campaign in the UNIGOV referendum and ultimately brought about the downfall of the Acheampong military government in 1978, restoring multiparty democratic rule to the country. Akufo-Addo was briefly in exile after the referendum, when his life was in danger. He was elected a Member of Parliament three times between 1996 and 2008, and served as Cabinet Minister from 2001 to 2007. As Attorney-General, he was responsible for the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law, which, had previously been used to intimidate the media and criminalise free speech. As Foreign Minister, he was fully involved in the successful Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) peace efforts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Guinea Bissau. Akufo-Addo has served on the boards and committees of a number of political, legal, commercial, and social organizations in the country, most notably serving as the first Chairperson of the Ghana Committee on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He was also responsible, through his association with the US company, Millicom, for introducing mobile telephony into the country. He also serves as a Co-Chair of the SDG Advocates.