The following is an official message by Ghana’s Ambassador to Korea Margaret Clarke-Kwesie on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the West African nation’s independence from British colonial rule. — ED. Today, March 6, marks the 55th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Ghana. Formed from the merger of the British Colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. On the eve of Ghana’s independence, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister and president proclaimed at the old polo grounds in Accra “At long last, the battle has ended and Ghana, our beloved country is free forever”. Ghana spearheaded the political liberation of colonized Africa from the very first day of her independence. Dr. Nkrumah championed the cause of African unity which led to the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU). Ghana became a sovereign member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the Non-aligned Movement and ECOWAS. However, from 1966-1981, a series of coup d’etats interspersed with short periods of democratic rule plagued the country and undermined its development process. Since 1992 however, when Ghanaians voted in a referendum to follow a multiparty democratic rule, Ghana has had four successful and peaceful general elections with three successive changes in the Government. Another election is scheduled to take place in December, 2012. It is hoped that there shall be successful and peaceful elections.