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Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta

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The Right Honourable
Aaron Eugene Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta
MP
4th Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana
In office
10 June 1965 – 22 February 1966
PresidentKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byJoseph Richard Asiedu
Succeeded byParliament suspended
Member of the Ghana Parliament
for Begoro
In office
February 1965 – 10 June 1965
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byJones Ofori Atta
Minister for Justice
In office
September 1961 – 1965
Preceded byHimself (Minister for Local Government and Justice)
Succeeded byMinistry merged
B. E. Kwaw-Swanzy (Attorney General and Minister for Justice)
Minister for Local Government and Justice
In office
1958 – September 1961
Preceded byHimself (Minister for Local Government)
Ebenezer Ako-Adjei (Minister for Justice)
Succeeded byKwaku Boateng (Minister for Local Government)
Minister for Local Government
In office
1956–1958
Preceded byEdward Asafu-Adjaye
Succeeded byMinistry merged
Himself (Minister for Local Government and Justice)
Minister for Communications
In office
1954–1956
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byArchie Casely-Hayford
Member of the Ghana Parliament
for Abuakwa Central
In office
1954 – February 1965
Preceded byJ. B. Danquah
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1912-12-12)12 December 1912
Kibi, Gold Coast
DiedJuly 1978 (aged 65)
Accra, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
Other political
affiliations		Convention People's Party
Parents
Relatives
Occupation

Aaron Eugene Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta, MP (12 December 1912 – July 1978) was a Ghanaian educator, lawyer and politician who served as the fourth Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana.[1]

Early life and education

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He was born on 12 December 1912 at Kyebi, Akyem Abuakwa and was a member of the Ofori-Atta royal family. After attending Presbyterian elementary school, he entered Mfantsipim School in 1925 and later left in 1928 to join Achimota College where he completed his secondary education in 1933. He served in various capacities at the Abuakwa State College and was made the school's Vice Principal and later Principal from 1944 to 1947. Later in 1947, he left for Ireland and entered Trinity College Dublin where he obtained his B.A degree in law and a diploma in public administration.[1]

Career

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Ofori-Atta was elected MP for Abuakwa Central and Begoro Constituencies. He first entered parliament house in 1954 and was appointed Minister for Communication from 1954 to 1956.[2] He beat a relative, J. B. Danquah, member of the Ghana Congress Party and a founding member of the defunct United Gold Coast Convention to the Akim Abuakwa Central seat.[3] He was a Minister for Local Government in the Convention People's Party (CPP) government of Kwame Nkrumah in the first government of Ghana.[4] He also served as the Minister for Justice in the same government.[5]

He was later appointed Speaker of Parliament on 10 June 1965 in the First Republic of Ghana.[6] He remained speaker until parliament was suspended by the National Liberation Council, formed after the coup d'état that ended the First Republic. Ofori-Atta is the uncle of Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana.[5]

Death

[edit]

Ofori-Atta died at the 37 Military Hospital in July 1978 in Accra.[7]

Political offices
Preceded by
First
 Minister for Local Government[4]
1957 – 65 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Justice
1962 – 62 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
First
 Minister for Communication
1954 – 56 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana
1965 – 66[6] 		Succeeded by
Nii Amaa Ollennu
(1969 – 72)

References

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  1. ^ a b Ernest Nee Pobee Sowah, Report of the Sowah Commission..., Volume 2, Ministry of Information, Ghana, 1968, p. 23.
  2. ^ "Ghana bar bulletin". Google Books. Ghana Bar Association: 111. 1988. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  3. ^ Dokosi, Michael (10 June 2018). "The electoral victories and shock losses of the 1954 Gold Coast election". BlakkPepper. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  4. ^ a b "1957 Govt. of Ghana". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 22 April 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  5. ^ a b Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. "HOMAGE TO THE MEMORY OF OSAGYEFUO KUNTUNKUNUNKU II, OKYENHENE". Prempeh College alumni. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  6. ^ a b "Rt. Hon. Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes:Speakers of Parliament from 1951 – 2005". Parliament of Ghana. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  7. ^ Ghana Year Book, Graphic Corporation, Ghana, 1978.


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