Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi

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Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi

2nd President of Nigeria
In office January 16, 1965 – July 29, 1966
Preceded by	Nnamdi Azikiwe
Succeeded by	Yakubu Gowon

Born	March 3, 1924 Umuahia, Nigeria
Died	July 29, 1966 Lalupon, Nigeria
Political party	None (military)

Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (March 3, 1924, Umuahia - July 29, 1966, Lalupon, Oyo State) was a Nigerian Igbo politician. He served as the Head of State of Nigeria from January 16, 1966 until he was overthrown and killed in a coup d'état on July 29, 1966.

Major General J. T. Aguiyi-lronsi, Nigeria's first military head of state, was born in 1924 in Umuahia, Abia State to Nigerian mother and Sierra-Leonian father. He joined the Nigerian Army in 1942 as a private and was promoted Major General in 1964.

He was recommended and converted into the officer cadre as 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal West African Frontier Force in 1948; Promoted Captain in 1953 and to Major in 1955.^{[citation needed]}

Ironsi was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1960, and in 1961, headed the Nigerian contingent in the United Nations Force. Later as Major General, and the most senior serving indigenous military officer in Nigeria, he became the head of the Nigerian Army in February 1965.

The military coup of 1966 brought him into limelight as the first military Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but was killed seven months later on July 29, 1966 in another coup d'etat.^{[citation needed]}

He was the Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Military when the January 16, 1966 coup occurred. Ironsi never took part in the coup, but in fact frustrated and stopped it. It was left to him to pick up the pieces of government and carry on. He sought to run the country as a unified entity, like the military.^{[citation needed]} However, this led to another coup and his death while in the seat of power.

His son, Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, was appointed to the position of Nigeria's defence minister on August 30, 2006.^[1]

[edit] See also

Nigerian First Republic

[edit] References

^ Nwankwere, Lucky, Molly Kilete. "Obasanjo drops Defence Minister…Aguiyi-Ironsi’s son takes over", Online Nigeria, 2006-08-31. Retrieved on January 25, 2007.

Heads of State of Nigeria
Nnamdi Azikiwe • Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi* • Yakubu Gowon* • Murtala Mohammed* • Olusegun Obasanjo* • Shehu Shagari • Muhammadu Buhari* • Ibrahim Babangida* • Ernest Shonekan† • Sani Abacha • Abdulsalami Abubakar* • Olusegun Obasanjo *military †interim