47 Facts About Nana Akufo-Addo

William Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a Ghanaian politician who served as the 13th president of Ghana from 2017 to 2025.

Nana Akufo-Addo previously served as Attorney General from 2001 to 2003 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 under the administration of then-president John Kufuor.

Nana Akufo-Addo lost on both occasions to National Democratic Congress' candidates: John Evans Atta Mills in 2008 and John Dramani Mahama in 2012.

Nana Akufo-Addo was chosen as the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party for a third time for the 2016 general elections, and this time he defeated incumbent John Dramani Mahama in the first round, which marked the first time in a Ghanaian presidential election that an opposition candidate won a majority outright in the first round.

Nana Akufo-Addo again secured an outright majority in the first round of the 2020 general elections, defeating Mahama for a second time.

Nana Akufo-Addo's government attributed this to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine, but many observers pointed to mismanagement of public funds.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was born in Swalaba, a suburb of Accra, Ghana, in 1944, to Adeline Akufo-Addo and Edward Akufo-Addo, members of the prominent Ofori-Atta family.

Akufo-Addo's maternal grandfather was Nana Sir Ofori Atta, King of Akyem Abuakwa, who was a member of the executive council of the governor of the Gold Coast before Ghana's independence.

Nana Akufo-Addo is a nephew of Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta and William Ofori Atta.

Nana Akufo-Addo's granduncle was J B Danquah, another member of The Big Six.

Nana Akufo-Addo started his primary education at the Government Boys School and Rowe Road School, both in Accra Central.

Nana Akufo-Addo went to England and continued his education at Holmewood House Preparatory School before studying for his O-Level and A-Level examinations at Lancing College, Sussex, where he was nicknamed "Billy" and joined the Anglican faith.

Nana Akufo-Addo began the Philosophy, Politics and Economics course at New College, Oxford, in 1962, but left soon afterwards.

Nana Akufo-Addo returned to Ghana in 1962 to teach at the Accra Academy, before going to read economics at the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1964, earning a BSc degree in 1967.

Nana Akufo-Addo subsequently joined the Middle Temple and trained as a lawyer under the apprenticeship system known as the Inns of Court, where no formal law degree was required.

Nana Akufo-Addo was called to the English Bar in July 1971.

Nana Akufo-Addo was called to the Ghanaian bar in July 1975.

Nana Akufo-Addo worked with the Paris office of the US law firm Coudert Brothers.

Nana Akufo-Addo was a member of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th parliament of the 4th republic representing the Abuakwa constituency.

In October 1998, Nana Akufo-Addo competed for the a presidential run of the NPP and lost to John Kufuor, who subsequently won the December 2000 presidential election and assumed office as President of Ghana in January 2001.

Nana Akufo-Addo was the chief campaigner for Kufuor in the 2000 election.

Nana Akufo-Addo became the first attorney general and Minister for justice of the Kufuor era, and later moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and New Partnership for Africa's Development.

In 2008, Nana Akufo-Addo represented the NPP in a closely contested election against John Atta Mills of NDC.

Nana Akufo-Addo ran again as the NPP's presidential candidate in the 2012 national elections against NDC's John Mahama, successor to the late Atta Mills.

Nana Akufo-Addo accepted the verdict in the interest of economic stability and international goodwill.

In March 2014, Nana Akufo-Addo announced his decision to seek his party's nomination for the third time ahead of the 2016 election.

Nana Akufo-Addo served as chair of the Commonwealth Observer Mission for the South African elections in 2014.

Nana Akufo-Addo focused his campaign on the economy, promising to stabilize the country's foreign exchange rate and to reduce unemployment levels.

Nana Akufo-Addo announced his intention to run for re-election by picking a nomination form as flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party ahead of the 2020 general elections.

In December 2021, Nana Akufo-Addo pledged to respect the two-term limit mandated in the Ghanaian constitution and not run for a third term in 2024.

Nana Akufo-Addo's inauguration was held at Black Star Square in Accra.

In September 2017, Nana Akufo-Addo launched the Free Senior High School policy, which will make secondary high school free for students in Ghana.

Nana Akufo-Addo celebrated notable improvements in the 2022 WASSCE results, with higher scores in English, Integrated Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies.

Nana Akufo-Addo commended the 2021 student cohort for adapting to the double track system.

Nana Akufo-Addo has taken a relatively moderate line on LGBT rights in Ghana.

Nana Akufo-Addo, who spent much of his early life in England, said that LGBT rights will evolve in Ghana as they have in the United Kingdom.

In February 2019, Nana Akufo-Addo's administration announced a complete renovation of sports buildings around Ghana due to the country hosting the African Games in 2024.

Nana Akufo-Addo is from Akropong-Akuapem and Kyebi in the Eastern Region and both sides of his family are Presbyterian.

Nana Akufo-Addo is married to Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the daughter of judge Jacob Hackenburg Griffiths-Randolph, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana during the Third Republic.

Nana Akufo-Addo has four biological daughters and one stepdaughter: Gyankroma, Edwina, Adriana, Yeboakua and Valerie.

Nana Akufo-Addo was appointed by Akufo-Addo as Ghana's Ambassador to Czech Republic in his first-term of government.

Nana Akufo-Addo was presented with the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice in 2016 by the Harmony Foundation for sacrificing political ambitions for the sake of national peace and reconciliation.

In May 2016, Nana Akufo-Addo was bestowed Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Fort Hare University of South Africa, recognizing his legal and political leadership.

Nana Akufo-Addo was given an award for Exemplary Leadership in June 2018, by the Whitaker Group.

Nana Akufo-Addo was honoured at the fourth Ghana Hotels Association Awards, held on 20 January 2020, for demonstrating visionary leadership by declaring the year of return and ensuring its successful execution.

On 8 August 2023, Nana Akufo-Addo was presented with a Medal of Merit in Leadership Award by the African Bar Association.

In July 2024, Nana Akufo-Addo received two honorary Doctorate degrees from two Universities in Ghana.