 Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor was born on December 8, 1938 in Kumasi , Ghana . He attended Prempeh College for his secondary education, where he passed at the top of his class. He enrolled at Lincoln Inn, London , and was called to the Bar in 1961 at the age of 22.
He then entered Oxford University where he passed his Honors BA degree in 1964 in Economics, Philosophy and Politics. He was subsequently confirmed, in accord with Oxford traditions, with the Master's degree by the University.
Both sides of Kufuor's parentage come from distinguished families whose members include Chiefs, Professionals and Politicians. J. A. Kufuor is happily married to Theresa (Nee Mensah). The marriage is blessed with five children. Mr. Kufuor and his family belong to the Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Kufuor comes to the Presidency with impressive Public service credentials, spanning over thirty years. In 1967, he was appointed Chief Legal Officer and Town Clerk (City Manager) of Kumasi , the Second largest City of Ghana. He was a member of the 1968-69 and the 1979 Constituent Assemblies that drafted the Constitutions of the Second and Third Republicss respectively. In addition he was a Founding Member of the Progress Pa rty (PP) in 1969, the Popular Front Pa rty (PFP) in 1979 and is a Founding Member of the New Pa triotic Pa rty(NPP). He has twice been elected as a Member of Pa rliament, during the Second and Third Republics . He has also been in political detention on two occasions as a result of military coups that overthrew the Second and Third Republics .
He has been a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and in this capacity, he represented Ghana on several occasions. From 1969 to December, 1971, he led Ghana 's Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York , the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Ministerial Meetings in Addis Ababa , and the Summit Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Lusaka , Zambia . In 1970, he led the Ghanaian Delegation to Moscow in the Former Soviet Union, Prague (Former Czechoslovakia), and Belgrade ( Yugoslavia ) to discuss Ghana 's indebtedness to these countries.
As the Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Deputy Opposition Leader of the Popular Front Pa rty (PFP) Pa rliamentary Group during the Third Republic , he was invited to accompany President Limann to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit Conference in Freetown , Sierra Leone . He was also a member of the parliamentary Delegation that visited the United States of America(USA) in 1981 to talk to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on Ghana 's economic problems.
In January, 1982, the leadership of the All People's Pa rty (APP), which was an alliance of all the opposition parties, advised some leading members, including the Deputy Leader of the Alliance, Alhaji Iddrisu Mahama, the General Secretary, Dr. Obed Asamoah and Mr. J. A. Kufuor to accept an invitation from the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC)to serve in what was purported to be a National Government. Mr. Kufuor was appointed the Secretary for Local Government in this new Government. As a Secretary for Local Government, he authored the Local Government Policy Guidelines that were to be the foundation of the current decentralized District Assemblies. He resigned within seven months of acceptance of the position after having satisfied himself that the PNDC Government was not the national Government that it promised to be. He was particularly uncomfortablewith the brutality, intolerance and abuse of human rights that characterized the PNDC government.
On April 20th 1996 , Mr. J. A. Kufuor was nominated by 1034 out of 2000 delegates of the New Pa triotic Pa rty (NPP) drawn from all the 200 Constituencies of the Country to run for the President of Ghana on December 10, 1996 . After campaigning for less than nine months, Mr. Kufuor polled almost 40% of the popular votes. On October 23, 1998 , he was re-nominated by the New patriotic Pa rty not only to run again for President but also to officially assume the position of Leader of the Pa rty.
Mr. J.A. Kufuor won the presidential elections in Dec. 2000 and was sworn in as president on January 9, 2001 . |
Governance
Minister for Defence, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor
- Minister for Local Government and Rural Development
- Mr. Charles Bintim
- Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
- Minister for Interior
- Papa Owusu Ankomah
- Minister for Information
- Dan Botwe
- Minister for Justice & Attorney General's Department
- Mr. Ayikoi Otoo
- Minister for Parliamentary Affairs
- Mr. Felix Owusu Adjapong
Finance and Economy
- Minister for Foods & Agriculture
- Mr. Ernest K. Debrah
- Minister for Finance & Economic Planning
- Mr. Kwadwo Baah Wiredu
- Minister for Regional Cooperation and NEPAD
- Mr. Konadu Apraku
- Minister for Trade and Industry
- Alan Kyeremanteng
- Minister for Private Sector Development & PSI
- Mr. Kwamena Bartels
- Minister for Fisheries
- Mrs. Gladys Asmah
- Minister for Tourism & Modernization of The Capital City
- Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey
Infrastructure
- Minister for Works & Housing
- Mr. Hackman Owusu Agyeman
- Minister for Roads Transport
- Mr. Richard Annane
- Minister for Communications
- Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah
- Minister for Energy
- Prof. Mike Oquaye
- Minister for Lands Forestry & Mines
- Prof. Dominic Fobih
Social Service
- Minister for Education & Sports
- Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo
- Minister for Health
- Mr. Courage Quashigah
- Minister for Women & Children's Affairs
- Hajia Alima Mahama
- Minister for Manpower,Youth & Employement
- Mr. Joseph K. Adda
- Minister for Environment & Science
- Christine Churcher
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The Council of State was initiated with the coming into being of the 1969 Constitution. Consequent Constitutions, 1979, 1992, also inculcated the Council of State.
The Council of State has 25 sitting members. Of this eleven (11) are nominated by the president of the Republic of Ghana, ten (10) are nominated from the regions and four (4) represent institutions. These four members are ex-officio members, a former Chief Justice, a former Chief of Defence Staff, a former Inspector General of Police and a former president of the National Council of Chiefs.
Presently, 24 members have taken the oath as members of the Council of State.
The main work of the Council is to advise the president in the performance of his functions, advise ministers, parliament and other institutions, both public and private in the performance of their duties. However, the institutions are not bound in any way to comply with the advice.
Also, when the president wants to appoint high-ranking public servants as in the commissioner for Internal Revenue Service and the Inspector General of Police, he does it in consultation with the Council.
The Council is divided into four committees to enable it to work efficiently and effectively. These are the Appointments and Petitions committee, the Finance and Welfare committee, the Development, Science and Technology committee and the Legal and Public Affairs committee.
The Council so far this year has met about fifty-six (56) times and forty-two (42) times last year. They meet five (5) times in a month, three (3) for plenary and (2) two for committee meetings. They however meet more times in a month depending on the situation at hand and how serious it is. In the case of the Yendi issue, they met six (6) times.
The Council of State is not a common feature on the political environment of many nations. Few countries like France, Sierra Leone and Saudi Arabia have a similar structure. |
