| Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo | |
| Leader of the New Patriotic Party | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1992 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 15, 1944 Ghana |
| Political party | New Patriotic Party |
| Residence | Nima,Accra,Ghana |
| Alma mater | University of Ghana |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Religion | Christian |
| Website | http://www.akufoaddo2012.com |
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (born March 29, 1944) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He was one of the founding members of the centrist New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 1992, and was also the founder and first chairperson of the Ghana Committee on Human and People's Rights. .
He was educated at Lancing College, Sussex, England, and the University of Ghana, Legon, graduating in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in Economics degree.
Nana Akufo Addo trained as a lawyer in England and was called to the English Bar (Middle Temple) in July 1971 as well as the Ghanaian Bar in July 1975.
He had a stint with Coudert Frères, a major US law firm, as an associate counsel, at its Paris office in France between 1971 and 1975.
The Foreign Minister also worked as a junior partner at the chambers of U.V. Campbell, and in 1979 co-founded, with Dr Edmund Prempeh, the law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Company in Accra.
Nana Akufo-Addo has served on the boards and committees of a number of political, legal and social organizations in the country. He is also the Chairperson of DHL, Ghana Limited; Chairperson, Kinesec Communications Company Limited, publishers of the Statesman.
Under President John Kufuor, Akufo-Addo was the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice from 2001 to 2003; he was then Minister for Foreign Affairs from April 2003 to July 2007, when, in accordance with his political party's rules, he resigned, along with seven others, to seek the presidential nomination of his party.
On December 23, 2007, Akufo-Addo was elected as the NPP's 2008 presidential candidate at a party congress, receiving 47.96% of valid votes (1,096 votes). Although he fell short of the required 50%, the second-place candidate, John Alan Kyeremanten, conceded defeat and backed Akufo-Addo.[1] In the 2008 presidential election, Akufo-Addo received the highest number of votes in the first round of voting, but since he failed to obtain a majority, the election went into a second round runoff between him and National Democratic Congress candidate John Atta Mills. In the runoff, he lost the election to Atta-Mills by a 50.23%–49.77% vote.[2]
| Parliament of Ghana | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Owuraku Amofa |
Member of Parliament for Abuakwa 1997-2005 |
Succeeded by Constituency divided into Akim Abuakwa North and South |
| Preceded by New constituency |
Member of Parliament for Akim Abuakwa South 2005–2009 |
Succeeded by Samuel Atta Akyea |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Obed Asamoah |
Attorney General and Minister for Justice 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Paapa Owusu Ankomah |
| Preceded by Hackman Owusu-Agyeman |
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD 2003 – 2007 |
Succeeded by Akwasi Osei-Adjei |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Kufuor |
New Patriotic Party presidential candidate 2008 |
Incumbent |