Nana Akufo-Addo (born: March 29, 1944, Age: 79) is the President of the Republic of Ghana and has been in office since January 7, 2017. He first ran for the top seat in 2008 with New Patriotic Party (NPP) and again in 2012. Nevertheless, he lost both times to NDC’s candidate but this didn’t deter him from trying again. Before he started his political career in 1970, Akuffo-Addo underwent an apprenticeship system known as Inns of Court where he was trained as a Lawyer.
Away from his career, Nana is married to the daughter of Justice J.H. Griffiths-Randolph, Rebecca, and together, they have five children. He has also received many awards to his credit, including the African Port Award (APA), Mother Theresa Memorial International Award of Social Justice, and National Achievement Award by the Africa-America Institute
Profile Summary Of Nana Akufo-Addo
- Full name: Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
- Date of Birth: March 29, 1944
- Age: 79
- Place of Birth: Accra, Ghana
- Nationality: Ghanaian
- Marital Status: Married to Rebecca Akuffo Addo
- Children: 5 (Gyankroma Funmi, Edwina Nana, Adriana Dukua, Yeboakua, and Valerie Obaze)
- Education: University of Ghana (1964-1967)
- Occupation: Incumbent President of Ghana
Nana Akufo Addo is 79 Years Old
Nana was born on March 29, 1944, into a prominent political family in Swalaba, Accra, Ghana. His parents Adeline (mother) and Edward Akufo Addo (father) raised him in Accra. His father, from Akropong-Akuapem, was Ghana’s third Chief Justice from 1966 to 1970. He also served as the chairman of the 1967-1968 constitutional commission, as well as non-executive President of Ghana from 1970-1972.
Sometime in his teens, he lived with his maternal grandfather, Nana Sir Ofori Atta, though this was for a short while. Nana Sir Ofori Atta was the king of Akyem Abuakwa, as well as a member of the Executive Council of the Governor of the Gold Coast before Ghana’s independence.
Akufo-Addo Was A Member Of The Parliament Of Abuakwa Constituency From 1991 To 1994
Akufo Addo formally began his political career in 1970 when he joined the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice (PMJF). In 1991, he was nominated as a member of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th parliament of the 4th republic, representing the Abuakwa Constituency. He later joined a large group of elites who formed Alliance for Change, a team that organized demonstrations against the policies of neo-liberal such as human rights violation of the Rawlings Presidency and Value Added Tax. At the forefront of this demonstration was Akufo-Addo, together with Saifullah Senior minister Victor Newman, Dr. Charles Wreko Brobbey, Kwasi Pratt Jnr, Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako among others. They named the protest Kumepreko.
However, the demonstration alliance later collapsed because the leaders vied for leadership positions. In 1990, he went ahead to form a civil rights organization named Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako. In the 1996 elections, Nana, out of 50,263 valid votes cast, polled 20,526 votes. Again, he emerged the winner in the 2000 General Election with total votes of 28,633 out of the 45,795 valid votes cast. Subsequently, he worked at the Paris office of the US Law firm, Coudert Brothers, and Chambers of U.V. Campbell. He co-founded the law firm Akufo Addo Prempeh and Co.
Nana Was 54 When He Made His First Presidential Bid
In October 1998, Akufo-Addo had his first competition for the presidential candidacy of the political party, NPP. However, He lost to John Kufuor who also won the presidential elections of December 2000 and assumed office as the President of Ghana in January 2001. During the 2000 election, he was the chief campaigner for Kufuor, and later became the first Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Kufuor era. Thereafter, he moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). In 2007, he was tipped to win NPP’s presidential primaries. In 2012, he represented his party IN the National election against NDC’s John Mahama. At the time, Mahama was declared the winner of the election but this outcome was unacceptable to him, so he legally challenged it.
After many considerable controversies in the court, the Supreme Court finally made a decision in favor of Mahama. In the interest of economic stability, Akufo Addo reluctantly accepted the decision. In March 2014, he announced his decision to be nominated for the 2016 election. He won in the NPP primary election conducted in October with 94.35% of the total votes. During his campaign, he focused on the economy and promised to reduce the level of unemployment and stabilize the country’s foreign exchange rate. On 9th December 2016, the incumbent President Mahama conceded defeat to Nana Akufo-Addo. He won the election with a total vote of 53.83% against Mahama’s 44.4%.
After serving his initial 4-year term as the president of Ghana, Nana picked a nomination form as the flag bearer of his party for his re-election at the 2020 General election. On 9th December, he was declared the winner of the presidential election with 51.59% of the votes.
The Ghanaian President Is A Graduate Of The University Of Ghana
Nana started his primary education at Government Boys School, Adabraka, and later moved to Rowe Road School in Accra central. In 1957, he went to England, the United Kingdom, for his secondary education at Lancing College. Thereafter, he began a Philosophy, Political, and Economics course at New College, Oxford, but left soon afterward.
He came back to Ghana in 1964 and enrolled in the University of Ghana where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. Four years after he graduated, Akufo Addo went back to the United Kingdom where he was trained as a Lawyer under the apprenticeship system known as Inns of Court, though no formal law degree was acquired. He was called to bar in England (1971) and in Ghana (1975).
Successes Recorded By Nana Akufo-Addo’s Administration
Nana Akufo-Addo started his first tenure as the President of Ghana on January 7, 2017, and is currently on his second tenure. Arguably, his first tenure can be described as one resounding success. His government started with a lot of energy, power, and goodwill. Under his administration, the country has experienced diverse positive impacts in so many areas such as education, health, finance, etc.
Economic Impact
In 2019, the country became the fastest growing economy in the world. Again, Ghana’s GDP in 2019 was the 9th largest in Africa. In 2018, Nana Akufo introduced a 7-year coordinated program of social and economic development policies. According to the president, this program is expected to create jobs. The policies of the program are founded on the five pillars of growth and development, namely strengthening social protection and inclusion; revitalizing the economy; reforming the delivery system of public services institutions; transform agriculture and industry, and revamping the economic and social infrastructure.
Health Impact
On January 28, 2020, under the Akufo-Addo administration, the president delivered 307 ambulances, one for each of the 275 constituencies in Ghana.
Political Impact
The current government policy has massively built voters’ confidence. It has also improved political awareness and functionality in the country, encouraging the citizens’ trustworthiness and understanding of taxation, making them believe that tax will directly contribute to financing the country.
Improved Educational System
The Free Secondary High School (Free SHS) policy was introduced in September 2017. This policy was part of Akufo-Addo’s presidential campaign during the 2016 election period. This has become a very important part of Ghana’s educational system which the country enjoys and benefits from.
List of Akufo-Addo’s Awards So Far
- In 2016, Harmony Foundations presented Nana with the ‘Mother Theresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice’ for sacrificing political ambitions for the sake of reconciliation and national peace.
- The Africa-America Institute gave him the National Achievement Award on behalf of the people of Ghana.
- In June 2018, he received an award for Exemplary Leadership by the Whittaker group.
- At the fourth Ghana Hotels Association Awards held on 20 January 2020, Nana was honored for demonstrating visionary leadership by declaring the year of return and effecting its execution.
- In May 2019, the UN secretary, António Guterres named Akufo-Addo among the newly appointed SDG advocates as co-chair, alongside the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg.
