Ghanian President Mills dead at 68

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ACCRA, Ghana, July 24 (UPI) -- Ghanian President John Atta Mills died Tuesday at a military hospital in Accra, the Ministry of Information said. He was 68.

The Ghana News Agency did not disclose the cause of death but the BBC reported Mills had been suffering from throat cancer while Wikipedia lists the cause of death as cardiac arrest.

"It is with a heavy heart ... that we announce the sudden and untimely death of the president of the Republic of Ghana," the Ministry of Information statement said.

Mills became president of Ghana in 2009 after having served as vice president from 2000 to 2004.

He was born in central Ghana and studied at the London School of Economics and Politics, and earned doctorates at the University of London, Wikipedia said. For much of his career he was a teacher and lecturer, traveling the world as a visiting professor.

Mills first ran for president in 2000 and again in 2004, finally succeeding in capturing the presidency in the 2008 election.

U.S. President Barack Obama praised Mills for working "tirelessly ... to improve the lives of the Ghanaian people.

"He helped promote economic growth in Ghana in the midst of challenging global circumstances and strengthened Ghana's strong tradition of democracy," Obama said.