Mahama's father also served as a senior presidential advisor[13] during Ghana's Third Republic under Hilla Limann who was overthrown in 1981 by Jerry Rawlings.

He proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon, receiving a bachelor's degree in history in 1981 and a postgraduate diploma in communication studies in 1986.

[15] Upon his return to Ghana after studying in Moscow, he worked as the Information, Culture and Research Officer at the Embassy of Japan in Accra between 1991 and 1995.

[14] In 1993, he participated in a professional training course for Overseas Public Relations Staff, organized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo.

[21][22] Continuing to expand his interest and involvement in international affairs, in 2003, Mahama became a member of the Pan-African Parliament, serving as the Chairperson of the West African Caucus until 2011.

[26]As a result of his elevation to the presidency, Mahama made political history by becoming the first Ghanaian head of state to have been born after Ghana's declaration of independence on 6 March 1957.

Mahama won the December 2012 general election with 50.70% of the total valid votes cast and a 3% winning margin beating his nearest rival, Nana Akufo-Addo of the main opposition New Patriotic Party, who polled a close 47.74%.

Thirteen African Heads of State, one Prime Minister, two vice-presidents and 18 government delegations across the world attended his inaugural ceremony at the Black Star Square in Accra on 7 January 2013, when Mahama was sworn in to begin his own four-year term.

[33] On 21 January 2016, on the occasion of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mahama became co-chair of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocates group which consists of 17 eminent persons assisting the UN Secretary-General in the campaign to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that world leaders unanimously adopted in September 2015.

[35] In December 2016, he was part of the ECOWAS mediation team to resolve the post-election political impasse in The Gambia between the defeated incumbent president, Yahya Jammeh and declared winner, Adama Barrow.

[47][48][49][50] On 8 December 2024, the candidate of the New Patriotic Party and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia called John Mahama to concede defeat in the 2024 General Elections.

[52] In one of his first acts as president, he announced an investigation into the National Cathedral of Ghana project approved under his predecessor Nana Akufo-Addo amid criticism over its costs.

Mahama has five children Farida, Jesse, Shafik, Shahid and Sharaf, who formerly played for Rostocker FC as a striker,[55] He is a Christian, born and raised a Presbyterian but is now a member of the Assemblies of God, Ghana by marriage.

[56][57] Being a staunch campaigner for sustainability, he has a keen interest in environmental affairs, particularly the problem of single-use plastic waste pollution in Africa, which he committed himself to addressing during his tenure as vice president.

His essays have also been published in the Daily Graphic, Ebony, Huffington Post, the Louisville Courier-Journal, the New York Times and The Root.

In particular, he is interested in finding the most effective ways to improve agricultural productivity and works to encourage more young people to see farming as a viable business and not a subsistence activity.

Even on official assignments outside of country, Mahama likes to take advantage of opportunities to visit agricultural establishments and update himself on current trends and developments.

He also takes keen interest in the opportunities for simplifying and making tasks easier with the use of information and communications technology, and considers the ICT industry one of the sectors that can play a significant role in economic transformation and job creation.

Mahama's first book, a memoir called My First Coup d'État: Memories from the Lost Decades of Africa, was published by Bloomsbury on 3 July 2012.

He recalls in its first chapter the day in 1966 when he learned of the ousting of Ghana's founding president, Kwame Nkrumah, in a military coup: "When I look back on my life it's clear to me that this moment marked the awakening of my consciousness.

[74] In March 2016, the University of Aberdeen held a special convocation to confer an honorary degree of Doctors of Laws (LLD) on Mahama.

[75] Mahama has also attended numerous conferences and won many fellowships, including a study as a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States.

[77] In October 2022, Mahama was honored by Liberty University with a Global Leadership and Economic Impact Award in Virginia, USA.