The Ghanaian politician Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo contested for President of Ghana in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections as the New Patriotic Party candidate. He is currently the NPP flag bearer for the 2016 elections. He is from Kyebi in the Eastern Region (Ghana). He is married to Rebecca Akufo-Addo (née Griffiths-Randolph). They have five daughters and five grandchildren.
Background
Ethnicity:
Both parents are of Ghanaian heritage. Kyebi in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Nana Afufo-Addo was born and raised in Ga-Maami (Accra Central) and in the Nima area of Accra. His father’s residence, Betty House at Korle Wokon in Accra, was effectively the headquarters of the country’s first political party, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), after it was formed at Saltpond on 4 August 1947. Three of the "Big Six" – the founding fathers of Ghana – were his relatives: J. B. Danquah (grand uncle), William Ofori-Atta (uncle) and Edward Akufo-Addo (the third Chief Justice of Ghana and later ceremonial President of the Republic from 1969 to 1972), (his father).
Education
Nana began his primary education at the Government Boys School, Adabraka, and later Rowe Road School (now Kinbu) both in Accra Central. Nana went on to England's Holmewood House Prep School before attending Lancing College, Sussex, to study for his O- Level and A- Level examinations. He returned to Ghana in 1964 to read Economics at the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra. After graduating as an Economist, he went on to read Law in the UK and was called to the English Bar (Middle Temple) in July 1971. Akufo-Addo was called to the Ghana bar in July 1975.
Akufo-Addo began his legal career in France. He stayed in France for five years as a lawyer at the now-defunct New York-based international law firm Coudert Brothers. Apart from the welcome exposure to the dynamics of international corporate transactions, his stay in France also made him fluent in French.
He returned home to Accra in 1975 to continue with his legal career. He joined the chambers of U. V. Campbell from 1975 to 1979, and in 1979 co-founded the law firm Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co, which has become one of the most prominent law firms in Ghana. Some lawyers in Ghana who passed through his law firm are among the most outstanding lawyers at the Ghanaian Bar today. They include Sophia Akuffo, Justice of the Supreme Court, Joyce Darko, Daniel Afari Yeboah, Philip Addison, Joe Ghartey, a former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Alex Quaynor, Frank Davies, Kweku Paintsil, Ursula Owusu, Atta Akyea, Akufo-Addo’s successor as MP for Abuakwa South Constituency, Akoto Ampaw, Yoni Kulendi, Kwame Akuffo, Godfrey Dame, and Kwaku Asirifi.
He began his political career in early thirties. He was the General Secretary of the broad-based People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice (PMFJ), which was composed of political stalwarts such as Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa, William Ofori-Atta, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Albert Adu Boahen, Sam Okudzeto, Obed Asamoah, Godfrey Agama, K. S. P. Jantuah, Jones Ofori-Atta, Johnny Hanson and Nii Amaah Amartefio ("Mr. No"). This group led the "NO" campaign in the UNIGOV referendum of 1978, designed to solicit popular support for a one-party military-led State. The “No” campaign ultimately brought about the downfall of the Acheampong military government on 5 July 1978, and the restoration of multiparty democratic rule to the country in 1979. Akufo-Addo had to go briefly into exile after the referendum, when his life was in danger. But, from Europe, he could be heard constantly on the BBC World Service, vigorously criticising the military rulers back in Ghana and calling for a return to democracy. He is acknowledged as one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement in Ghana.
In 1991, Akufo-Addo was the chairman of the Organising Committee of the Danquah-Busia Memorial Club, a club dedicated to the preservation of the memory and ideals of the two great advocates of Ghanaian democracy, J. B. Danquah and K. A. Busia, Prime Minister of the Progress Party government of the 2nd Republic of Ghana. Akufo-Addo travelled throughout Ghana to establish branches of the Club all over the country in the grassroots style for which he is known. These branches eventually transformed into local organs of the NPP after the ban on party politics was lifted, prior to the elections of 1993.
In 1992 he became the first national organiser of the NPP and, later that year, campaign manager of the party's first presidential candidate, Prof. Albert Adu Boahen, the man of courage who broke the “culture of silence” in Ghana. In that same year, he set up and financed The Statesman newspaper, which has become the unofficial mouthpiece of the NPP.
In 1995, he led the famous "Kume Preko" demonstrations of the Alliance For Change (AFC), a broad-based political pressure group, which mobilised millions of people onto the streets of Ghana to protest the harsh economic conditions of the Rawlings era. Some pundits in Ghana believe that this was instrumental in re-establishing the NPP as a more formidable force after Professor Adu Boahen.
Akufo-Addo was elected three times between 1996 and 2008 as Member of Parliament for the Abuakwa South constituency in the Eastern region of Ghana. From 2001 to 2007, as Cabinet Minister, first as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice for two years, and later as Foreign Minister for five years, Akufo-Addo served in the government of President John Kufuor with distinction.
In 2004, Ghana was elected one of the 15 pioneer members of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council, a mandate that was renewed at the AU Summit in Khartoum in January 2006. Akufo-Addo was chosen by his peers on the AU Executive Council to chair the Ministerial Committee of 15 that fashioned the Ezulwini Consensus, which defined the African Union’s common position on UN Reforms. He negotiated for the 2007 AU Summit to be held in Accra as part of Ghana’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, and chaired the AU Executive Council in 2007.
Ghana was elected by her peers to take the non-permanent West African seat on the UN Security Council for 2006-07. In August 2006, Akufo-Addo chaired the meeting of the Security Council which took the decision that halted Israel’s massive incursions into Lebanon. Again, Ghana was elected to the new UN body, the Human Rights Council, with the highest number of votes—183 out of 191—of any country, and as a pioneer member of another UN body, the Peacebuilding Commission.
In October 1998, Nana Akufo-Addo contested for the presidential candidacy of the NPP and lost to John Agyekum Kufuor, the man who eventually won the presidential election in Ghana in December 2000 and assumed office as President of Ghana in 2001. Akufo-Addo was the chief campaigner for candidate Kufuor in the 2000 election and became the first Attorney General and Minister for Justice of the Kufuor era.
Akufo-Addo resigned from the Kufuor government in July 2007 to contest for the position of presidential candidate of his party, the NPP, the then ruling party of Ghana, for the 2008 elections. Competing against 16 others, he won 48% of the votes in the first round of that election, but was given a unanimous endorsement in the second round, making him the party’s presidential candidate.
In the 7 December 2008 presidential race, he received, in the first round, more votes than John Atta Mills, the eventual winner. In the first round, Akufo-Addo received 4,159,439 votes representing 49.13% of the votes cast, placing him first, but not enough for the 50% needed for an outright victory. It was the best-ever performance for a first-time presidential candidate in the Fourth Republic. In the run-off, Mills received 4,521,032 votes, representing 50.23%, thus beating Akufo-Addo by the smallest margin in Ghana’s, and, indeed, in Africa’s political history. Akufo-Addo accepted the results without calling even for a recount, thereby helping to preserve the peace, freedom and stability of Ghana. Akufo-Addo again contested in the 2012 national elections against the NDC candidate, the late Mills’ successor as President, John Mahama, and lost. That election generated considerable controversy, and was finally decided by the Supreme Court in a narrow 5/4 decision in favour of John Mahama. Akufo-Addo is credited with helping to preserve the peace of the country by the statesmanlike manner in which he accepted the adverse verdict of the Court, at a time of high tension in the country.
In March 2014, Akufo-Addo announced his decision to seek his party’s nomination for the third time ahead of the 2016 election. He secured an unprecedented, landslide victory of 94.35% of the votes in the party’s presidential primary in October, 2014, in a contest of 7 competitors. Akufo-Addo also took time off to serve as Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Mission for the South African elections in 2014, building on his reputation as Ghana's Former Foreign Minister.
Against the background of a deteriorating economic environment in the country, resulting in severe economic hardships and difficulties for Ghanaians, Nana Akufo-Addo is widely considered to be the favourite in the impending 2016 presidential election.
Achievements
Religion
He is a devout Christian who regularly attend the Ridge Church, Accra.
Politics
Nana Akufo-Addo believes in Ghana. He has made it clear that his presidency will be about encouraging Ghanaians to believe in themselves and achieve for themselves. He believes the future belongs to those who believe in Ghana. "This is an age of re-discovery. We need to reconnect with the courage and hope that made Ghana the first black African country to achieve independence. We need to claim for ourselves a new passion and culture of excellence. Let us move forward with confidence that our potential lies within us and that it is bigger than the problems which stifled our efforts in the past. Our potential far outweighs the obstacles that lie before us," says Nana Akufo-Addo, the inspiring leader that Ghanaians believe has the courage and vim to drive the nation into a new era where the development in freedom that has been achieved in the first eight years of the NPP will be transformed into prosperity for all.
Views
Akufo-Addo used his law practice to champion the cause of human rights, rule of law, justice, freedom, and democracy. He was well known for giving free legal assistance to the poor and fought for the rights and liberties of the Ghanaian people. Indeed, many of the important constitutional cases of the modern era, which, inter alia, protected the independence of the judiciary, the right of the citizen to demonstrate without police permit, and the right of equal access of all political parties to the State-owned media, were undertaken by him.
Quotations:
“To believe in Ghana is to defend, support and be prepared to serve a free Ghana; to believe in Ghana is not to allow your energies to be sapped away by either the failures of the past or the challenges of today; to believe in Ghana is to embrace today's challenges as opportunities for a better tomorrow; to believe in Ghana is to be proud of Ghana's rich diverse culture, customs, traditions and history; to believe in Ghana is to be devoted to its welfare and freedom."
“It is to stand up in defence of the state even if, in dissenting, you offend the temporary custodians of the state; it means believing in its economic capacity; it means knowing that such belief is not futile, for clearly, the Ghanaian has the entrepreneurial capacity to create a prosperous society for the great majority."
“To believe in Ghana is to insist that those in authority lead by example; to believe in Ghana is to believe that for thos who lost their lives for the good or this country, their sacrifices were not in vain; that, indeed, Ghana is a country worth dying for."
“To believe in Ghana is to be responsible citizen; to believe in Gha a is to believe in yourself as a Ghanaian, as someone capable of contributing to the building of a successful, modern African state, operating on the principles of democratic accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law."
Personality
He is a calm, composed, articulate, courageous and astute diplomat par excellence. Nana is never intimidated by the traditional powers of the world and he has gained their respect and admiration in his cultured tenacity to fight for the African cause. His patriotism, Pan-Africanism, towering confidence, courage, wisdom, eloquence, worldliness, multi-lingual prowess and exceptional political leadership make him a potential world leader who can push both the Ghanaian and African agenda to heights unimaginable since the First Republic.
Physical Characteristics:
He is of the Black race
Connections
He is married, and has five daughters and a grandson