Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

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The Honourable
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
MP
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa at 3 Music Awards 22 47.jpg
Ablakwa in 2022
Minister for Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 February 2025

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (born 11 August 1980) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency in the Volta region since 2013, elected on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2025 under the government of President John Dramani Mahama. He previously served as Deputy Minister for Information and Deputy Minister for Education during the administrations of Presidents John Atta Mills and Mahama. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Ablakwa was born on 11 August 1980 in Aveyime-Battor in the Volta Region of Ghana. [3] He attended the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School, Legon (Presec-Legon), where he served as Vice President of the Scripture Union. He studied Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Ghana, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. He later pursued a Master of Arts in communication, Media and Public Relations at the University of Leicester. [4] [3] [5]

He also holds a certificate in leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School of Governance and a Master of Science degree in Defense and International Politics from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College. Prior to entering politics, he was the managing director of Savvi Solutions, a communications firm. [6] [7]

Political career

Early involvement

While at the University of Ghana, Ablakwa served as President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) from 2005 to 2006. He was also involved in drafting youth policies for the NDC's 2008 election manifesto and was a member of the Committee for Joint Action (CJA), a pressure group advocating for economic and social reforms. [8] [9] [10]

Member of Parliament

Ablakwa was first elected to Parliament in 2012, winning the North Tongu seat with 90.5% of valid votes cast. He was re-elected in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 general elections. As a Member of Parliament, he has served on the Appointments Committee and is the Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He also chaired the Assurances Committee and has been associated with a parliamentary initiative known as Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), launched under the Mahama administration. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [10]

Deputy Ministerial roles

In 2009, Ablakwa was appointed Deputy Minister for Information at age 28, becoming one of the youngest ministers in Ghana's Fourth Republic. He later served as Deputy Minister for Education, focusing on tertiary education, from 2013 to 2016. [16] [17] [18] [19] [1] [20]

Minister for Foreign Affairs

In January 2025, Ablakwa was nominated and approved as Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was sworn into office in February 2025, succeeding Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey. [21] [22] [23]

Public initiatives

In August 2023, Ablakwa announced plans for a public demonstration under the theme Enough of the Looting, focused on issues of public accountability. [24]

In February 2024, he inaugurated a housing project for victims displaced by the Akosombo Dam spillage, an initiative led by former President John Dramani Mahama. [25] [26]

Personal life

Ablakwa is married to Nuhela Seidu, a lawyer and daughter of the late Mumuni Abudu Seidu. They have two children. He is a Christian. His uncle, Sam Okudzeto, is a lawyer and founder of Sena Chartered Secretaries Limited. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

Philanthropy

In 2022, Ablakwa awarded a scholarship to Samelia Mekporsigbe, a pupil from Battor DA Primary School, who had won the Volta Regional USAID Learning Initiative competition. [32] [33]

Awards and recognition

Ablakwa has received several recognitions, including:

Employment

References

  1. 1 2 Adjorlolo, Ruth Abla. "Deputy Minister condemns students' actions". Gbc Ghana. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Stop cutting power supply to schools – Ablakwa to ECG". Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Biography". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Biography". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Baarffour (Devarsh), Asare Michael (5 February 2023). "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa Biography: Age, Political Career, Education And Family". Ghana Education News. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Parliament of Ghana". Parliament Of Ghana. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Group petitions GRA to chase Okudzeto Ablakwa over 'unpaid taxes'". GhanaWeb. 16 February 2023. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  8. ↑ Coverghana.com.gh (27 March 2022). "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa: Biography, Profile, age, political career, education and family". Coverghana. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Biography". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Profile of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Foreign Affairs Minister Designate". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  11. ↑ "Ghana MPs - MP Details - Ablakwa, Okudzeto Samuel". GhanaMps. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Ghana Election 2016 Results - North Tongu Constituency". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "'Don't treat Ghanaian migrants as criminals'". Graphic Online. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  14. ↑ "Ghana 2020 Election - North Tongu Constituency Parliament Results". www.peacefmonline.com. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  15. ↑ Online, Peace FM. "North Tongu Constituency Parliament Results - Ghana 2024 Election Results". Peacefmonline.com - Ghana news. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  16. ↑ Arthur, Portia (18 June 2015). "Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, before going into politics". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  17. ↑ Dogbevi, Emmanuel (2 October 2016). "Government to speedup passage of Tertiary Education Research Fund". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Government And UG Have Cordial Relationship-Minister". News Ghana. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  19. ↑ Yeboah, Paul Y. A. "UMaT is the Most Compliant Public University in Ghana". umat.edu.gh. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "Ablakwa Lauds IUCG's Excellence and the Quality of its Graduates". IUCG. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  21. ↑ "Profile of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Foreign Affairs Minister-designate". Ghana Web. 22 January 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  22. ↑ Iddi Yire (8 February 2025). "Mahama swears in 17 new Ministers, declaring no room for pomposity in his government". Ghana News Agency. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  23. ↑ "Mahama swears in Sam George, Ablakwa, Akandoh, 14 other ministers". Modern Ghana. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  24. ↑ Kwafo, Eric Nana Yaw (1 August 2023). "Ablakwa to lead 'Enough of the Looting Demo' after fingering Gabby Otchere-Darko in GHS187.3m scandal". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  25. ↑ Johnson, Reymond Awusei (11 February 2024). "Okudzeto Ablakwa unveils homes for 300 Akosombo Dam Spillage victims". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  26. ↑ "Okudzeto Ablakwa set to inaugurate homes for 300 victims of Akosombo Dam spillage".
  27. ↑ Aklorbortu, Priscilla (2 November 2020). "5 photos of the wife of North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa". Yen - Ghana news. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  28. ↑ Tali, Selorm (24 December 2020). "Okudzeto Ablakwa shares rare photos of his beautiful wife to celebrate her birthday". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  29. ↑ Annang, Evans (27 July 2022). "Okudzeto Ablakwa celebrates wife as she bags Master's Degree in Law". Pulse Ghana. Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  30. ↑ "Parliament of Ghana". Parliament Of Ghana. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "How Nana Akomea 'forced' Ablakwa to reveal uncle's links to National Cathedral role". GhanaWeb. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  32. ↑ "8-year-old earns full scholarship and GH¢3,000 from Okudzeto Ablakwa". GhanaWeb. 7 August 2022. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  33. ↑ Kamasah, Andreas (5 August 2022). "8-year-old gets scholarship, Tablet and 3k from Ablakwa for winning reading competition". Pulse Ghana. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  34. ↑ "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa: The distinguished gentleman of Ghana politics". GhanaRemembers. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  35. ↑ pappy (17 April 2016). "GHANA TERTIARY STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2016". Pappy's Space. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
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