Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is a Nigerian politician who became the President of Nigeria in 2010 and has been serving in this position since then. Prior to assuming the office of the president he had served as the Vice-President of Nigeria and Governor of Bayelsa State. Jonathan has played a very important role in Nigerian politics ever since he became involved with the emerging People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the late 1990s. His rise to the top in Nigerian politics is very remarkable given that he was born into a humble family of canoe makers with no background in politics. He holds a doctorate in zoology and has served as an assistant director at the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission. It was only in the late 1990s that he joined politics and within years established himself as one of the most prominent politicians in his country. He was made Vice-President of Nigeria after having served as the Governor of Bayelsa State. In this position he maintained a low-profile even as he played a significant role in negotiating with militants in the Niger delta. He served as the Acting President when the incumbent President Yar'Adua took a leave of absence because of illness and succeeded him as the President of Nigeria upon his death.
