| Edward Akufo-Addo | |
|---|---|
| Akufo-Addo | |
| 2nd President of Ghana (5th Head of State of Ghana) |
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| In office 31 August 1970 – 13 January 1972 |
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| Prime Minister | Kofi Busia (1969–1972) |
| Preceded by | Nii Amaa Ollennu |
| Succeeded by | Gen. I.K. Acheampong |
| 3rd Chief Justice of Ghana (15th including Gold Coast) |
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| In office 1966–1970 |
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| Preceded by | J. Sarkodee-Addo |
| Succeeded by | Edmund A.L. Bannerman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 June 1906 Dodowa, Gold Coast |
| Died | 17 July 1979 (aged 73) Accra, Ghana |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Political party | non-partisan |
| Spouse(s) | Mrs. Adeline Y. Akufo-Addo (née Nana Yeboakua Ofori-Atta) |
| Children | Nana Addo Dankwa |
| Profession | Judge / Lawyer |
| Religion | Christian |
| Ceremonial President with executive powers vested in Prime Minister | |
Edward Akufo-Addo (26 June 1906 – 17 July 1979) was a politician and lawyer in Ghana. He was one of the Big Six in the fight for Ghana's independence. He also became the Chief Justice and later President of the Republic of Ghana.
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Akufo-Addo was born at Dodowa.[1] He had his basic education at Presbyterian Primary and Middle Schools at Dodowa.[1] In 1929, he entered Achimota College, from where he won a scholarship to St Peter's College, Oxford, where he studied Mathematics, Politics and Philosophy.[1]
Akufo-Addo was called to the Middle Temple Bar, London, UK in 1940[1] and returned to what was then the Gold Coast to start a private legal practice a year later.
In 1947, he became a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and was one of the "Big Six" detained after disturbances in Accra. From 1949–1950, he was a member of the Gold Coast Legislative Council and the Coussey Constitutional Commission.
After independence (1962–1964), Akufo-Addo was a Supreme Court Judge (One of three Judges who sat on Treason trial involving Tawia Adamafio, Ako Adjei and three others after the Kulungugu bomb attack on President Kwame Nkrumah and for doing so was dismissed with fellow judges for finding some of the accused not guilty). From 1966–1970, he was appointed Chief Justice by the National Liberation Council (NLC) regime as well as Chairman of the Constitutional Commission (Commission that drafted the 1969 Second Republican Constitution). He was also head of the NLC Political Commission during this same time period. From 31 August 1970 until his deposition by coup d'état on 13 January 1972, Akufo-Addo was President of Ghana in the Second Republic. He was a ceremonial President and had no executive powers as all powers lay with the Prime Minister, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia. On 17 July 1979, Akufo-Addo died of natural causes.
Akufo-Addo married Nana Yeboakua Ofori-Atta, Abontendomhemma and a daughter of Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, a former Okyenhene of the Akyem Abuakwa state in the Eastern Region of Ghana.[2] His son, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo came second in the Ghanaian presidential election in 2008.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by J. Sarkodee-Addo |
Chief Justice of Ghana 1966–1970 |
Succeeded by Edmund A.L. Bannerman |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Nii Amaa Ollennu |
President of Ghana 1970–1972 |
Succeeded by Gen. I. K. Acheampong |
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