List of Mills government ministers

Last updated

This is a listing of the ministers who served in the National Democratic Congress government of John Atta Mills in Ghana following its inauguration on 7 January 2009 after his victory in the 2008 Ghanaian general election held in December 2008. [1] The government was in power for less than the four years stipulated.

Contents

The Mills presidency ended on 24 July 2012 when President John Atta Mills died following illness. [2] Mills was succeeded by his vice president, John Dramani Mahama as specified by the Ghana constitution. [3]

John Mahama was sworn in on the same day by the Chief Justice of Ghana and he continued with most of the ministers from this government. The change happened just months before the 2012 Ghanaian general election scheduled for December 2012. [4]

List of ministers

Office(s)OfficeholderStartEnd
President John Atta Mills 20092012
Vice President John Dramani Mahama 20092012
Cabinet Ministers
Office(s)OfficeholderStartEnd
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Muhammad Mumuni 20092012
Minister for the Interior Cletus Avoka  (MP)20092010
Martin A. B. K. Amidu 20102011
Benjamin Kunbuor 2011 [5] 2012
William Kwasi Aboah 20122012
Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Kwabena Duffuor 20092012
Minister for Defence Lt. Gen. Joseph Henry Smith 20092012
Attorney General and Minister for Justice Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu 20092011
Martin Amidu 2011 [5] 2012 [6]
Benjamin Kunbuor 2012 [7] [8] 2012
Minister for Education Alex Tettey-Enyo   (MP)20092011
Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu 2011 [5] 2012 [9]
Lee Ocran 20122012
Minister for Food and Agriculture Kwesi Ahwoi 20092012
Minister for Trade and Industry Hanna Tetteh 20092012
Minister for Health George Sipa-Adjah Yankey 20092009 [10]
Benjamin Kunbuor 20092011
Joseph Yieleh Chireh  (MP)20112012 [5]
Alban Bagbin  (MP)2012 [11] 2012
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Joseph Yieleh Chireh  (MP)20092011
Samuel Kwame Ofosu-Ampofo 20112012 [5]
Minister for Tourism Juliana Azumah-Mensah  (MP)20092010
Zita Okaikoi 20102011
Akua Sena Dansua  (MP)20112012 [5]
Minister for Energy Joe Oteng-Adjei 20092012
Minister for Transport Mike Allen Hammah  (MP)20092011
Collins Dauda  (MP)20112012 [5]
Minister for Roads and Highways Joe Kwashie Gidisu  (MP)20092012
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Collins Dauda  (MP)20092011
Mike Allen Hammah  (MP)20112012 [5]
Minister for Women and Children's Affairs Akua Sena Dansua  (MP)20092010
Juliana Azumah-Mensah  (MP)20102012
Minister for Communications Haruna Iddrisu 20092012
Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Sherry Ayitey 20092012
Minister for Information Zita Okaikoi 20092010
John Tia   (MP)20102012
Fritz Baffour   (MP)20122012
Minister for Employment and Social Welfare Stephen Amoanor Kwao   (MP)20092010
Enoch Teye Mensah  (MP)20102012
Moses Asaga   (MP)20122012
Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing Albert Abongo  (MP)20092010
Alban Bagbin  (MP)20102012
Enoch Teye Mensah  (MP)20122012
Minister for Youth and Sports Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak  (MP)20092009 [12]
Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo  (MP)20092010
Akua Sena Dansua  (MP)20102011
Clement Kofi Humado  (MP)20112012 [5]
Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture Alexander Asum-Ahensah  (MP)20092012
Regional Ministers
RegionOfficeholderStartEnd
Ashanti Regional Minister Kofi Opoku-Manu20092011
Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah20112012
Brong Ahafo Region Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo20092012
Central Regional Minister Ama Benyiwa-Doe 20092012
Eastern Regional Minister Samuel Kwame Ofosu-Ampofo 20092011 [5]
Dr Kwasi Akyem Apea-Kubi20112012 [13]
Victor Emmanuel Smith 20122012
Greater Accra Regional Minister Nii Armah Ashitey 20092012
Northern Regional Minister S. S. Nanyina20092010
Moses Bukari Mabengba20102012
Upper East Region Mark Woyongo 20092012
Upper West Region Mahmud Khalid 20092010 [14]
Issaku Saliah20102012
Amin Amidu Sulemana 20122012
Volta Regional Minister Joseph Amenowode   (MP)20092012
Henry Ford Kamel   (MP)20122012
Western Region Paul Evans Aidoo   (MP)20092012
Ministers of State
Office(s)OfficeholderStartEnd
Minister at the Presidency Alhassan Azong 20092012
Mrs Hautie Dubie Alhassan20092012
Amadu Seidu 20092009 [10]
Stephen Amoanor Kwao   (MP)20102012
Rafatu Halutie A. Dubie?2012
Dominic Azimbe Azumah  (MP)20122012

Mills' government changes

2009

The first batch of ministers in the NDC government were sworn in on 13 January 2009. [15] Betty Mould-Iddrisu who was initially out of the country was later sworn in as Ghana's first female Attorney General and Minister for Justice. [16]

Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, the Minister for Sports, resigned on 25 June 2009 following findings of financial impropriety against him by a committee set up by government. [12] Two additional ministers, Dr. George Yankey, Minister for Health and Ahmed Seidu, Minister at the Presidency tended their resignations on 10 October 2009, following allegations of having accepted bribes from a United Kingdom company many years prior to the formation of this government. [10] Both ministers claim to be innocent of the allegations and are to be investigated by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice at the request of President Mills. [17]

2010

On 25 January 2010, President Mills conducted his first cabinet reshuffle. There were changes of ministers in 7 ministries and one change of regional minister. In all, four new ministers came into government including Alban Bagbin, the Majority Leader in parliament and his deputy, John Tia. Also in were Enoch T. Mensah, a former minister in the Rawlings NDC government and Martin Amidu, the new Interior minister. [18] [19]

On 11 May 2010, Mahmud Khalid, the Upper West Regional Minister was dismissed by President Mills. Khalid suggested members of his party lobbied for his dismissal. [14] Alhaji Issaku Saliah, a former MP for Wa West was nominated as his replacement [20] and approved by parliament on 23 July 2010. [21]

2011

The second cabinet reshuffle by President Mills was in January 2011. 9 ministries were affected in all. One Regional minister was also changed. Notable changes including replacing Betty Mould-Iddrisu with Martin Amidu as Attorney-General. Zita Okaikoi and Alex Tettey-Enyo were dropped from government. [5]

2012

In January 2012, Martin Amidu was sacked by President Mills. This followed allegations he made suggesting some members of the ruling party may be corrupt. He was asked to substantiate his allegations by Mills and subsequently sacked ostensibly because he was unable to do so. [6] [22] A few days later, Betty Mould-Iddrissu, Minister for Education who was the Attorney-General before Amidu tended her resignation as Minister for Education. This was accepted by President Mills who appointed Enoch Mensah to replace her as Minister for Education temporarily. [9] [23] A cabinet reshuffle was announced a few days later via a press release from the Office of the President. There were new ministers nominated for approval by parliament. These include William Kwasi Aboah for Interior, Lee Ocran for Education, Fritz Baffour MP for Ablekuma South for Information, Moses Asaga for Employment and Social Welfare, Dominic Azimbe Azumah, MP for Garu - Timpane – Minister of State and Amin Amidu Sulemani, Upper West Regional Minister designate. [7] They were all sworn in on 24 February 2012 by President Mills after having been approved by the Parliament of Ghana. [24] On 26 March 2012, President Mills appointed two new regional ministers. The former ambassador to the Czech Republic, Victor Emmanuel Smith became the new Eastern Region Minister and the MP for Buem, Henry Kamel Ford became the new Volta Region Minister. [25]

Death of President Mills

On 25 July 25 2012, President Mills was taken ill and died a few hours afterwards at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Democratic Congress (Ghana)</span> Political party in Ghana

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is a social democratic political party in Ghana, founded by Jerry Rawlings, who was Head of State of Ghana from 1981 to 1993 and the President of Ghana from 1993 to 2001. Following the formation of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), which ruled Ghana following the military coup d'état on 31 December 1981, there was pressure from the international community to restore democracy. The NDC was formed as the ruling party ahead of elections in 1992, in which Rawlings was elected president, and in 1996 Rawlings was re-elected as the NDC candidate. Rawlings' second term ended in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Atta Mills</span> President of Ghana from 2009 to 2012

John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 Ghanaian presidential election. He was previously the Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and he contested unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alban Bagbin</span> Ghanaian politician

Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin is a Ghanaian politician who is the current Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana. He was the Minister for Health in the Ghana government 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 subsequently lost to former President John Dramani Mahama. On 7th January 2021 Bagbin was elected Speaker of 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mahama</span> President of Ghana from 2012 to 2017

John Dramani Mahama is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as president on 24 July 2012 following the death of his predecessor, John Evans Fiifi Attah Mills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Mould-Iddrisu</span> Ghanaian lawyer and politician

Betty Nah-Akuyea Mould-Iddrisu 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. Prior to politics, she had been the Head of Legal and Constitutional Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanna Tetteh</span> Ghanaian politician

Hanna Serwaa Tetteh 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.

Juliana Jocelyn Azumah-Mensah is a Ghanaian politician and nurse. She was the Minister for Women and Children's Affairs. She is also the Member of Parliament for Ho East constituency.

Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu is a Ghanaian politician and lawyer who served as Attorney General and Minister for Justice in Ghana from 2011 to 2012 and then as the First Special Prosecutor of the country from 2018 until his resignation in 2020, citing political interference by the President, Nana Akufo-Addo. He is also known for introducing the word ‘gargantuan‘, into the body politics of Ghana, when he opened investigations in the Woyome scandal which was one of the highest profiled corruption cases at the time. On 11 January 2018, Martin A.B.K Amidu was named by the President of Ghana as the Special Prosecutor for the newly created Office of the Special Prosecutor. Nana Akufo-Addo touted his anti-corruption fights as Attorney General and a private citizen as reasons for choosing Mr. Amidu, his one-time political adversary.

Enoch Teye Mensah, commonly known as E. T. Mensah, was a Ghanaian politician. He was a Minister for Education and a Member of Parliament in Ghana from January 1997 till January 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haruna Iddrisu</span> Ghanaian lawyer and politician

Haruna Iddrisu is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician who is a member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing Tamale South. He served as the Minority Leader for NDC in Ghana's Parliament from January 2017 and was succeeded by Ato Forson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherry Ayittey</span> Ghanaian politician (1948–2023)

Hanny-Sherry Naa Sakley Ayittey was a Ghanaian biochemist, politician and women's activist. She was a Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development. She was the Minister for Health from February 2013 to June 2014. She was the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology from 2009 to 2012.

Benjamin Bewa-Nyog Kunbuor was the Ghanaian Minister for Defence of the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence and a Ghanaian politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the Nandom constituency.

Joseph Zaphenat Amenowode is a Ghanaian politician and academic. He was the Member of Parliament for Hohoe South and was the Minister for the Volta Region of Ghana from January 2009 until his dismissal on 6 March 2012. He has worked as a university lecturer prior to going into politics.

Lee Tandoh Ocran was a Ghanaian politician who served as Minister for Education of Ghana from 2012 to 2013. Ocran was appointed Minister by President John Atta Mills in February 2012 in a cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of Betty Mould-Iddrisu from the government and the sacking of Martin Amidu.

Amin Amidu Sulemana is a Ghanaian diplomat and politician. He is the Member of Parliament for the Sissala West constituency in Ghana. He was also the Minister for Roads and Highways in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Ohene Agyekum</span>

"Ambassador Daniel Ohene Agyekum (USA)". Ghana Web. 28 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of John Atta Mills</span> Ghanaian presidential administration from 2009 to 2012

The presidency of John Atta Mills began on 7 January 2009 and ended on 24 July 2012. John Atta Mills, an NDC candidate, became the 3rd President of the Ghanaian Fourth Republic after he defeated NPP opponent Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 Ghanaian general election. After his death on 24 July 2012, John Atta Mills was succeeded by his vice president, John Mahama in accordance to the 1992 Constitution. He was the first Ghanaian Head of State to die in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of John Kufuor</span> Ghanaian presidential administration from 2001 to 2009

The presidency of John Kufuor began on 7 January 2001 and ended on 7 January 2009 after he was inaugurated as the 2nd President of the Fourth Republic. Kufuor was a New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate. He won the 2000 Ghanaian general election after defeating National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate John Atta Mills by earning 56.9% of the votes. This marked Ghana's first transition of power through a free and fair election since independence. Kufuor ran for re-election in 2004, winning again against John Atta Mills, and served two full terms.

References

  1. "Mills takes Office". GhanaWeb. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 "President Mills Dies at 68". General news. Ghana Home Page. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  3. "John Mahama takes over as 4th President of 4th Republic". General news. Ghana Home Page. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  4. "Prez Mahama: I Never Imagined That One Day I'lll Address Our Nation In Such Circumstances". GhanaWeb. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Cabinet reshuffle: Zita dropped, Betty for education". Ghana Home Page. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Martin Amidu sacked". Ghana Home Page. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Full Text Of Reshuffle By President Mills". Ghana Home Page. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  8. "Mills meets Council of State Members, Ministers". Ghana Home Page. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  9. 1 2 "E.T. Mensah Takes Over Education". General News. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 "President accepts resignation of two ministers". General News. Ghana Home Page. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  11. Africa, Daily Guide (26 January 2012). "4 Ministers Sacked In Cabinet Shake-up". News Ghana. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Embattled Sports Minister Muntaka resigns". General News. Ghana Home Page. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  13. "(KOFORIDUA) NEW JUABEN : Ofosu-Ampofo hands-over to incoming Minister". GhanaDistricts.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  14. 1 2 "My dismissal was orchestrated by NDC executives - Khalid". General news. Ghana Home Page. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  15. "First batch of Ministers Sworn In". General News of Friday, 13 February 2009. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  16. "First woman Attorney-General Sworn In". General News. Ghana Home Page. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  17. "M&J bribery scandal: Sipa-Adjah Yankey pleads innocent". General News. Ghana Home Page. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  18. "President Mills reshuffles Ministers". General News. Ghana Home Page. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  19. "Reshuffle Blues: Sena Dansua Heads Sports Ministry". General News. Ghana Home Page. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  20. "Press Release-President Mills Nominates Upper West Regional Minister". Government of Ghana. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  21. "Isaaku Salia approved as Upper West Regional Minister". Accra Mail. Retrieved 29 July 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  22. "Attorney-General Martin Amidu relieved of his post". General News. Ghana Home Page. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  23. "President Mills Relieves Attorney-General Of His Post". Ghana government. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  24. "Mills tasks new ministers to excel". General News. Ghana Home Page. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  25. "President Mills swears-in Victor Smith, Kamel Ford as Regional Ministers". General news. Ghana Home Page. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
Preceded by Government of Ghana
2009 2012
Succeeded by