Ghana Month: 67 top Ghanaian politicians of all time

Then known as Gold Coast, Ghana was the first in the West African sub-region to liberate itself from the Crown Colony of the British.

Post-independent Ghana has seen a myriad of political actors grace the political scene over the past six decades and seven years. As part of celebrating Ghana’s 67^th independence anniversary, 3news recalls 67 politicians whose impact over the period cannot escape mention.

1. Osagyefo Dr Francis Kwame Nkrumah: (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. Nkrumah was the founder of the Convention People’s Party, before which he served as General Secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained independence from Britain. He then became the President of Ghana, from 1957 until 1966. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity.
2. Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 1947 – 12 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician who led the country briefly in 1979 and then from 1981 to 2001. He served two terms as a democratically elected president of Ghana from 1992 to 6^th January, 2001.
3. John Agyekum Kufuor (December 8, 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from January 7, 2001, to January 6, 2009. He also became the Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008 and his victory over John Evans Atta Mills at the end of Jerry Rawlings’ second term marked the first transition of power in Ghana from a democratic government to another democratic government.
4. John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until he died in office in 2012. He was inaugurated on January 7, 2009 after defeating the governing party’s candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 presidential election.
5. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo: (March 29, 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the President of Ghana since 2017. He previously served as Attorney-General from 2001 to 2003 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 under the Kufuor-led administration. Akufo-Addo first ran for president in 2008 and again in 2012, both occasions as the candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
6. Joseph Arthur Ankrah (18 August 1915 – 25 November 1992) was a Ghanaian army general who was head of state of Ghana from 1966 to 1969 as Chairman of the National Liberation Council. He was Ghana’s first military head of state. Ankrah also served as Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from February 24, 1966, to November 5, 1966. Previously, Ankrah was appointed the first commander of the Ghana Army in 1961.
7. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong: Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (23 September 1931 – 16 June 1979) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who was the military head of state of Ghana from January 13, 1972, to July 5, 1978, when he was deposed in a palace coup. He was executed by firing squad on June 16, 1979.
8. Hilla Limann: (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served as the President of Ghana from September 24, 1979, to December 31, 1981. He served as a diplomat in Lome, Togo, and Geneva, Switzerland.
9. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah: General Mosquito, as he is popularly referred to, is currently the Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He is noted to be the longest serving General Secretary of the NDC. He was elected into the first parliament of the fourth republic of Ghana on 7 January 1993 as Member of Parliament for Wenchi West Constituency. As a member of the Ghanaian parliament, Aseidu Nketia has worked on the Appointments Committee, Finance Committee and Public Accounts Committee. He has been a Chairman – Mines and Energy Committee, Ranking Member for Food and Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee and Deputy Majority Chief Whip. He was Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture in charge of crops under the Jerry John Rawlings administration.
10. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare: She is currently the Chief of Staff. Akosua Frema is also the first woman to occupy this position in Ghana’s history. She is an astute development practitioner, an academic, and a Ghanaian politician. She represented Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency in the Parliament of Ghana. Frema in 2005 – 2008 worked under the government of President John Agyekum Kufuor as the Deputy Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment.
11. Ama Benyiwa-Doe (Deceased) was first elected into parliament during the December 1992 General Elections on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress as a member of the Gomoa West Constituency in the Central Region. She became a Regional Minister of State from January 2009 to 2012 for the Central Region of Ghana. She was also a former member of the Council of State.
12. Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi): Bernard Antwi Boasiako is a popular Ghanaian politician. Bernard is now also known for being the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
13. Samuel Nartey George (Sam George) is a Ghanaian politician. He is from Ahwiam, Old Ningo. He is a member of the National Democratic Congress. In November 2015, he defeated the then incumbent E. T. Mensah to represent the party in the 2016 parliamentary elections for the Ningo-Prampram Constituency. He is currently a member of the 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, representing the Ningo-Prampram Constituency.
14. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong: He is a Member of Parliament for Assin Central Constituency in the Central Region. He contested the flagbearership position of the New Patriotic Party but lost to the current Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
15. Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie (popularly known as Sir John) (1957–1 July 2020) was a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He held several political positions, including serving as General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party. He was serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission of Ghana before his demise.
16. Aaron Mike Oquaye (April 4, 1944) is a Ghanaian barrister and politician who served as the seventh Speaker of Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana from 2017 to 2021. An academic, diplomat, and Baptist minister, he previously held the cabinet ministerial portfolios for energy and communication and was also the High Commissioner of Ghana to India (2002–2004) in the Kufuor administration. Oquaye served as the Speaker of Parliament in the seventh parliament of the Fourth Republic.
17. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa: (August 11, 1980) is a Ghanaian politician who is a Member of Parliament for North Tongu. He was a deputy minister of state under both John Atta Mills and John Mahama. He is currently Ranking Member on Parliament’s Select Committee on Foreign Affairs.
18. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu (1952–September 2008) was a Ghanaian politician and chartered accountant. He was a Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North Constituency from January 1997 until his death on September 24, 2008. He served as Minister of Finance and other ministries under the Kufuor government from 2001.
19. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings (born November 17, 1948) is a Ghanaian politician and the widow of former President Jerry Rawlings, under whose presidency she served as the First Lady of Ghana. In 2016, she became the first woman to run for President of Ghana. In 2018, she launched her book titled: “It Takes a Woman.”
20. Enoch Teye Mensah (17 May 1946 – 1 October 2023), popularly known as E. T. Mensah, was a Ghanaian politician. He was Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram from 7 January 1997 to 7, 2017 and held ministerial positions in the administrations of Jerry Rawlings and John Atta Mills.
21. John Dramani Mahama (born on Saturday, November 29, 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from July 24, 2012, to January 7, 2017, following the death of his predecessor, John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills. Before then, he was the Vice President of Ghana from January 7, 2009.
22. Dr Yaw Osafo-Maafo is a Ghanaian politician who was appointed as senior presidential advisor to the Akufo-Addo Administration in 2021. He was Senior Minister of the Republic of Ghana in the Akufo-Addo Administration from 2017 to 2021. He was a Member of Parliament for Akim Oda from 1997 to 2009 and previously served as Finance Minister and in other cabinet roles in the Kufuor Administration between 2001 and 2009.
23. Gladyse Asmah: (October 1939–June 24, 2014) was a Ghanaian politician and entrepreneur. She served as Minister of Fisheries as well as a Member of Parliament for the Takoradi Constituency. She was also the former Minister for Women’s Affairs under former President Kufuor’s administration.
24. Kow Nkensen Arkaah (14 July 1927 – 25 April 2001) was a Ghanaian politician who was Vice-President of Ghana from 1993 to 1997. He was also a chief of Senya Beraku.
25. Hanna Serwaa Tetteh (May 31, 1967) is a Ghanaian barrister and politician. She served in the cabinet of Ghana as Minister for Trade and Industry from 2009 to 2013 and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017. She was also the Member of Parliament for the Awutu-Senya West Constituency. She currently serves as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.
26. Betty Naa-Akuyea Mould-Iddrisu (March 22, 1953) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. A member of the National Democratic Congress, she was Minister for Education in Ghana from 2011 to 2012, after serving as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice of Ghana from 2009 to 2011. She was the first woman to lead the Attorney General’s Office in Ghana. Before entering politics, she served as the Head of Legal and Constitutional Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
27. Alban Bagbin: (September 24, 1957) is a Ghanaian politician who is the current Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana. He was the Minister for Health from January 2012 until February 2013. He served as the Member of Parliament for Nadowli West Constituency in the Upper West Region of Ghana in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Parliaments of the 4th Republic of Ghana. He contested for the presidential candidate slot of the National Democratic Congress in 2019 but lost to former President John Dramani Mahama.
28. Kwame Baffoe Abronye: He is the Bono Regional Chairman of the NPP. His controversial nature makes him loved by all.
29. Alhaji Aliu Mahama (3 March 1946 – 16 November 2012) was a Ghanaian engineer and politician who was Vice-President of Ghana from January 7, 2001, to January 7, 2009. A member of the New Patriotic Party, he was Ghana’s first Muslim Vice-President.
30. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah: He played significant roles in a number of administrations. During his tenure as Minister of Trade and Industry from 2014-2017, he was instrumental in shaping national trade policies and strategies. He established the groundbreaking Ghana Educational Trust Fund (GETFund).
31. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia (October 7, 1963) is a Ghanaian economist who serves as the 5th Vice President of Ghana in the 4th Republic. He assumed office on January 7, 2017, as Vice President of Ghana. He is the flagbearer and presidential candidate of the NPP for the December 7, 2024 election.
32. Papa Owusu Ankomah: (April 27, 1958) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party. He served as a Member of Parliament for the Sekondi Constituency from 1996 to 2016. In June 2017, Papa Owusu-Ankomah was appointed Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland.
33. Haruna Idrisu: MP for Tamale South and former Minority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament. He has held various positions in government, including Minister for Communications under the Mills and Mahama governments as well as Minister for Trade between 2013 and 2014. He was appointed the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations by President Mahama in July 2014.
34. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu: The former Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs has been a legislator since 1997. He was the leader of government business and read the 2021 budget on behalf of the President.
35. Sheikh Ibrahim Cudjoe Quaye (July 30, 1937), is a Ghanaian politician who represented the constituency of Ayawaso Central in the Parliament of Ghana from 1996 to 2011. He also served as Regional Minister of the Greater Accra Region under Kufuor’s government from 2001 to 2009.
36. Daniel Augustus Lartey (1 August 1926 – 28 December 2009), popularly known as Dan Lartey, was a Ghanaian politician in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. He was the presidential candidate of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP). He was a former publisher and labour unionist. He became a household name in Ghana following his famous 2004 presidential election campaign mantra, ‘domestication’, and also his political philosophy of growing Ghana from Ghana rather than depending on foreign aid.
37. Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey (June 2, 1967) is a Ghanaian politician and General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress. He is a former 2 term Member of Parliament for the Ketu South Constituency in Ghana. He was one time the propaganda secretary for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
38. Alfred Oko Vanderpuije (November 4, 1955) is a Ghanaian educationist and politician who currently serves as a Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South Constituency in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. He was once the Mayor of Accra.
39. A.B.A. Fuseini: (February 2, 1956), is a Ghanaian journalist and politician, who is the former deputy Northern Regional Minister of Ghana. He is a member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, representing the Sagnarigu Constituency in the Northern Region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress.
40. Jacob “Jake” Lantei Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey (4 February 1946 – 20 March 2016) was a Ghanaian politician and advertising businessman. He was co-owner and General Manager of Lintas W.A. (later Advantage Group) from 1974 until he assumed cabinet roles in the government of John Kufuor from 2001 to 2007. He was National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party from 2010 to 2014
41. Kwabena Agyapong: (6 March 1962) He served as the Press Secretary to President John Kufuor from 2001 to 2006. Kwabena Agyapong was one of 17 aspirants who contested for the party’s nomination to replace John Agyekum Kuffuor as presidential candidate for the 2008 General Election. In 2014, Kwabena Agyapong stood for the position of General Secretary of the Party and won.
42. Vincent Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (5 April 1982) is a Ghanaian politician and lawyer. He is the Member of Parliament for the Ofoase-Ayirebi Constituency. Having served as the Minister of Information since November 2018, he was appointed as the Minister of Works and Housing during a Ministerial reshuffle on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
43. Sammy Adu Gyamfi (28 March 1989) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He is the current National Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress.
44. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen (October 3, 1955) is a Ghanaian politician. Mr Kyerematen was Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States and later Minister of Trade and Industry, Private Sector Development (PSD), and Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) during President John Kufuor’s administration. Kyerematen has served as a trade advisor at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he coordinated the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC).
45. Seth Emmanuel Terkper: He is a Ghanaian chartered accountant and politician who served as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning of Ghana from 2013 to 2017 under the John Mahama Government.
46. Sarah Adwoa Safo (28 December 1981) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. She is the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for the Dome Kwabenya Constituency of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. She was the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection until 28 July 2022 when she was dismissed by Nana Akuffo Addo Danquah
47. Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang: (22 November 1951) is a Ghanaian academic and politician who served as Minister for Education from February 2013 to January 2017. She is a full professor of literature. She served as the first female Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast. She currently serves as the Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa. In the December 2020 presidential election, she partnered John Mahama as his running mate on the NDC party ticket.
48. Matthew Opoku Prempeh: (23 May 1968) is a Ghanaian medical doctor and politician. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and a Member of Parliament for Manhyia South Constituency in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He is a former Minister of Education. He is popularly known as NAPO. He is currently the Minister of Energy.
49. Edward Akufo-Addo JSC (26 June 1906 – 17 July 1979) was a Ghanaian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the “Big Six” leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and one of the founding fathers of Ghana who engaged in the fight for Ghana’s independence. He became the Chief Justice (1966–70), and later ceremonial President (1970–72), of the Republic of Ghana. He is the father of the current President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
50. Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta: (7 November 1958), is a Ghanaian investment banker who served as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinet of Nana Akufo-Addo until February 2024. He is currently the Senior Presidential Advisor and Special Envoy for International Finance and Private Sector Investments. He was a co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian financial services company, and served as executive chairman until 2012 when he resigned.
51. Joseph Henry Mensah: In 1961, he served as the head of agency at the National Planning Commission. The National Planning Commission drafted and implemented Ghana’s Seven-Year Development Plan (1963/64–1969–70). In 1969, he was elected to parliament and became first the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and then the Finance Minister in the Busia’s government until 1972, when he was replaced by the then head of state, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong after a coup d’état by the Ghana Armed Forces.
52. Ferdinand Koblavi Dra Goka: (1919-2007) was a Ghanaian teacher and politician. He was a Volta Regional Minister, and as Ghana’s second finance minister during the first republic. He is often credited as the man who changed the name of Trans Volta Togoland to the Volta Region.
53. Richard Kwame Peprah: He is a Ghanaian politician. Peprah served from 1983 – 2001 in the Rawlings government. He was educated at Achimota School. He served in the capacity of Minister of Mines and Energy from 1993 to 1995 and as a Minister of Finance from 1995 to 2001.
54. William Ofori Atta (10 October 1910 – 14 July 1988), popularly called “Paa Willie”, was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and one of the founding fathers of Ghana. He was one of “The Big Six” detained by the British colonial government in the then Gold Coast. He later became a Minister for Foreign Affairs in Ghana’s second republic between 1971 and 1972.
55. Kofi Abrefa Busia (11 July 1913 – 28 August 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a nationalist leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to the country following military rule.
56. Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin (27 May 1978) is the Member of the Parliament for the Effutu Constituency in the Central Region. He also serves as a member of the Committee on Defense and Interior Committee in Ghana Parliament. He was the Deputy Majority Leader in the Parliament of Ghana until February 2024 when he was promoted to the role of Majority Leader.
57. 57. Edward Kojo Salia (20 June 1952 – 16 February 2009) was a Ghanaian Member of Parliament. He was also a member of the National Democratic Congress and was a Minister of State in the Rawlings government.
58. Henry Quartey (12 March 1971) is a Ghanaian politician and member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing the Ayawaso Central Constituency in the Greater Accra Region on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. He was the Minister for Greater Accra Region until February 2024 when he appointed Minister for the Interior.
59. Alfred Kwame Agbesi (20 February 1955) is a lawyer and politician in Ghana. He belongs to the National Democratic Congress. He was the former Member of Parliament for Ashaiman Constituency and a former Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament of Ghana under John Dramani Mahama’s administration.
60. Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover (28 August 1966) is a Ghanaian politician and the Member of Parliament of Tema East Constituency. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and was once the Deputy Minister of Transport in Ghana. Tutus is currently the Greater Accra Regional Minister.
61. Frederick Worsemao Armah Blay: He is a lawyer, a Ghanaian politician and a member of the Second, Third and Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing the Ellembelle Constituency in the Western Region of Ghana. He is a former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party.
62. Stephen Asamoah Boateng (August 18, 1958) is a Ghanaian politician and a former member of parliament for the Mfantsiman West Constituency of the Central Region of Ghana. He is a former Minister for Local Government Rural Development and Environment, Tourism and Diaspora Relations. Asamoah Boateng is also a former Minister of information and National Orientation as well as a former Chief Executive Officer of the State Enterprise Commission. He is currently the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
63. Emmanuel Odarkwei Obetsebi-Lamptey (26 April 1902 – 29 January 1963) He was a political activist in the British colony of the Gold Coast. He was one of the founding fathers of Ghana and one of the founders and leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) known as “The Big Six”. He was the father of NPP politician Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey. He played a vital role in the Big Six.
64. Papa Kwesi Nduom: (February 15, 1953) is a Ghanaian business consultant, politician, and founding member of Ghana’s Progressive People’s Party. A three-time candidate for president, he was a member of parliament for the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem Constituency and served as minister of state in the Kufuor government.
65. Joseph Kwame Kyeretwie Boakye Danquah (18 December 1895 – 4 February 1965) was a Ghanaian politician, scholar, lawyer and statesman. He was a politician in pre- and post-colonial Ghana, which was formerly the Gold Coast, and is credited with giving Ghana its current name. During his political career, Danquah was one of the primary opposition leaders to Ghanaian president and independence leader Kwame Nkrumah. Danquah was described as the “doyen of Gold Coast politics” by the Watson Commission of Inquiry into the 1948 Accra riots.
66. Ako Adjei (17 June 1916 – 14 January 2002) He was a Ghanaian statesman, politician, lawyer and journalist. He was a member of the United Gold Coast Convention and one of six leaders who were detained during Ghana’s struggle for political independence from Britain, a group famously called The Big Six. He has been recognized as a founding father of Ghana for his active participation in the immediate politics of Ghana’s pre-independence era. Adjei became a member of parliament as a Convention People’s Party candidate in 1954 and held ministerial offices until 1962 when as Minister for Foreign Affairs he was wrongfully detained for the Kulungugu bomb attack.
67. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong: (June 16, 1960) is a Ghanaian politician and businessman who represents Assin Central in parliament as a member of the New Patriotic Party. He was first elected as a member of parliament in 2000 to the seat of Assin North. He retained his seat in the year 2004 and 2008 parliamentary elections. In 2012, he was elected in the new seat of Assin Central and was re-elected in 2016. He also retained his seat in the 2020 general elections. He is currently the Chairman of the Parliament’s Defense and Interior Committee.[8] As an aspirant in 2023 for the presidential candidacy of the NPP,he lost to Mahamudu Bawumia.