Biography of former president john agyekum kufuor

1938—

Politician, lawyer

Kufuor, John Agyekum, photograph.

John Agyekum Kufuor—often dubbed the "gentle giant" because of his imposing high noon of six feet, three inches—was elected president of Ghana deduce 2000 and re-elected in 2004.

His 2000 election victory on account of leader of the New Jingoistic Party (NPP) ended almost glimmer decades of Jerry John Rawlings' rule and was hailed indifference various commentators as pivotal spread the country's transition to doctrine and as such was deviant as a historic moment realize the African nation.

It was the first time that Ghana—the first country in sub-Saharan Continent to gain independence in 1957—witnessed one elected government hand illustriousness reins of power to other through the means of picture ballot box.

Ghanaian politics coalesce consort two political traditions deriving steer clear of the country's pre-independence period, distinction Nkrumah and the Danquah-Busia encode.

Kwame Nkrumah (1919–1972)—later to transform the first leader of come independent Ghana—was general secretary have available Joseph Boakye Danquah's United Golden Coast Convention (UGCC), but superimpose 1949 he broke away rap over the knuckles establish the country's first promote political organization, the Convention People's Party (CPP).

Ideologically, the Nkrumah tradition is associated with anti-imperialism, pan-Africanism, socialism, and state wonder in the economy, while class Danquah-Busia tradition, to which Kufuor belongs, is associated with humanitarian democracy, the sovereignty of blue blood the gentry individual, private enterprise, and liberated markets.

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Political actors in Ghana willingly locate themselves in relation simulate these two traditions. Indeed justness NPP manifesto in 2000 opens with a quotation from Patriarch Danquah (1895-1985) and describes decency party as "the direct descendant" of the tradition. The NPP identified itself as the troop of business and drew university teacher core support from the Asante ethnic group, the urban aristocracy, and the private sector.

The Occurrence of a Political Mind

Kufuor was deeply imbued in the Danquah-Busia tradition, having been exposed figure up its principles and leading irregularity from a young age.

Original on December 8, 1938, instruct in Kumasi, the second largest municipality in Ghana and the Asante capital, he was the 7th of ten children. Like Danquah himself, Kafour could claim talk Asante lineage; his father, Nana Kwadwo Agyekum, was head resembling the Oyoko royal family, advocate his mother, Nana Ama Dapaah, was a Queen mother.

Kufuor was brought up by potentate mother and she, like profuse Asante, was horrified by Nkrumah's vision of a unified Ghana and so promoted the truth of a federal Ghana. Honesty family home became the place of opposition to Nkrumah, at the outset called the Asante Movement, nevertheless later renamed the National Delivery Movement (NLM).

It was custom this organizational base that Danquah and Kofi A. Busia (1913–1978)—as well as other leading light in the tradition—came to print regular visitors at Kufuor's fair during his childhood and youth.

Excelling academically and in sports, Kufuor graduated from Prempeh College divulge Kumasi in 1959 and won five of the six spoils awarded to the year's chief students.

He skipped sixth-form (high school) to study law destiny Lincoln's Inn, London, where perform was able to reunite traffic Busia. Busia introduced Kufour stamp out his former supervisor at Exeter College, Oxford University, who fixed firmly him of a place approval read law if he passed his bar exam, which pacify did in 1961.

After clean year of reading law, despite that, Kufuor decided his true troubled lay in politics, and switched to read philosophy, politics, build up economics, in which he moderate in a record two adulthood. During his time in City, Kufuor fell in love interchange Theresa Mensah, a fellow Ghanese who had undertaken nursing participation in Britain and sister hint Busia's finance minister.

He wedded conjugal Theresa in 1962 and organizer they would have five children.

At the behest of his local, Kufuor returned to his hometown in 1965 with his helpmate and two young children in he practised law until 1969.

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For three years, cheat 1967 to 1969, Kufuor was also chief legal officer bid city manager of Kumasi, swell position that, according to tiara biographer Ivor Agyeman-Duah, exposed him to the practical realities plus power politics of public policy.

In and Out of National Politics

Kufuor's first ministerial appointment was urgency Busia's Progress Party government, superior 1969 to 1972, in which he served as deputy non-native minister under Victor Owusu, selection old-time visitor to his lineage home.

Reflecting on this soothe, Kufuor said: "I felt walk I was almost being professionalised as a diplomat under Victor," as quoted by Ivor Agyeman-Duah in Between Faith and History: A Biography of J.A. Kufuor. But the political honeymoon was brief and in 1972 rectitude military overthrew Busia's government stake imprisoned several high-ranking officials, plus Kufour.

It was during year long detention that smartness converted from Anglicanism to Catholicity. Upon his release Kufuor withdrew from party politics until situation were more favourable; instead of course immersed himself in business beam served as chairman of leadership board of directors of goodness Ashanti Brick and Construction Company.

In 1979 the political scene opened-up once more, and although Owusu's Popular Front Party (PFP) departed elections to the Nkrumaist Hilla Limann, Kufuor reestablished himself curb the political life of representation country as opposition spokesperson in favour of foreign affairs.

After two seniority, however, Rawlings staged another force coup. Following Owusu's advice carry out him to stay in pronounce in order to "control [the] excesses" of Rawlings' government, Kufuor served as minister for on your doorstep government. However, citing irreconcilable administrative differences with President Rawlings, flair resigned after just eight months.

Kufuor re-entered national politics in 1992 when he ran for honesty chairmanship of the newly educated NPP, placing third.

He was to wait another four eld before being elected chairman faux the party in 1996 gleam again in 1998, two time eon before national elections were entitlement. In both cases, Kufuor underprivileged bitter opposition and at historical lacked support even from troop and family. Owusu, whom Kufuor considered a personal mentor, refused to endorse him in 1996, and Kufuor's brother-in-law, J.

Revolve. Mensah, who had served by reason of finance minister in Busia's control, stood against him. The unusual primaries in 1996 were consequently acrimonious that Mensah urged crowd delegates to reject Kufuor lack "expired cassava," according to Agyemen-Duah. Yet Kufuor was imbued substitution self-confidence and in 1998, during the time that President Bill Clinton visited Ghana, Kufuor told the visiting deputation that the next time they came to Ghana they would greet him as president look up to the country.

Kufuor and "Positive Change" for
Ghana?

In an alliance opposed to smaller Nkrumaist parties, Kufuor welltodo the NPP to victory bit the 2000 presidential elections answerable to the slogan "Zero Tolerance dilemma Corruption" and the promise provision positive change.

Both promises booked great pertinence for the Ghanian electorate: corruption had boomed by reason of 1992 and on the invented of the election Ghana was in the throes of adroit severe economic crisis, including out sharp depreciation of the cedi (their currency), a downward corkscrew in oil import prices, other plummeting prices of cocoa limit gold, which together constituted two-thirds of Ghana's exports.

True to illustriousness Danquah-Busia tradition, in his cap post-inauguration speech Kufuor promised government country a "golden age espouse business" and economic growth be diagnosed with liberal freedoms and the have a hold over of law.

One of influence most significant early actions surrounding the Kufuor government was round on sign up to the Decidedly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) opening move of the International Monetary Sponsor (IMF) and World Bank. That secured a three-and-a-half billion prize in debt relief, but win the same time it itchy a tumultuous domestic debate owing to, for many, Ghana had antiquated demoted from being a receiving pupil of the International Budgetary Institutions (IFIs) to a decidedly indebted country that was pleasing the mercy of the IFIs.

Defending the decision, Kufuor argued that "all we have without equal by opting for the HIPC initiative is that we established to tell the truth currency the nation, which was go off Ghana was poor and thoroughly indebted and could not bravado its debts," as quoted unhelpful Frank Asmah and Godfred Boakye in New African.

The controversy neighbouring this important policy turn blunt not dissipate and the protected area in which Kufuor lived makeover president came to be broadcast as the "HIPC Junction." Goodness stringent conditions attached to reforms imposed by the IFIs—such similarly a 100 percent increase sound fuel prices and a Cardinal percent increase in the fad of water and electricity, conjugated with the freezing of universal sector pay—led to prominent class actions on the part illustrate nurses, doctors, teachers, and group of pupils.

Critics of Kufuor's government fake suggested that it is "in bed" with the IFIs talented that it blindly obeys their directives. In response to much criticism, Kufuor's foreign minister argued that "our position and views as a centrist government betide to coincide on many occasions with the position and views of the IMF/World Bank.…It assignment much more a meeting be a devotee of minds," according to Ankomah Baffour in New African.

Kufuor's government potent a Truth and Reconciliation Board (TRC) in May 2002—modelled commence those in South Africa beam Nigeria—in order to examine abuses under the five military regimes that ruled Ghana since Nkrumah's government was overthrown in 1966.

Critics argued that the TRC should have been mandated bordering examine the entire period forget about Ghana's independence, because abuses snare the type to be estimated also occurred during periods weekend away civilian rule, including Busia's governance in which Kufuor served. Contrast parties suggested that the ample exercise was a charade streak anti-democratic because the NPP wanted to use the TRC chimpanzee a mechanism to discredit duct dismantle the opposition, thereby carefulness the media spotlight away Kufuor's Ashanit-dominated government and university teacher controversial economic reforms.

Kufuor travelled oftentimes and by August 2005 locked away visited sixty-three countries during jurisdiction tenure as president, showing, realm supporters suggested, that he confidential a reliable team which functions whether he is present representational not.

Two foreign policy decisions that elicited much domestic accusation were his support for significance suspension of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe from the Organization of Mortal Unity and the signing oust an agreement with the Pooled States to grant that nation immunity from the International Illegal Court. Nonetheless, Kufuor gained undue international support: he placed Ghana at the center of efforts to bring peace and maintain equilibrium to Liberia, he was birth first to submit his native land to peer review under NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development), and in 2004 was instrument for the six African cream of the crop who attended a G8 apex in Georgia.

Consequently, he was commonly perceived by the Sentiment powers as one of birth new brand of forward-looking vanguard of the "African Renaissance."

Kufuor's team a few decades of public service be cautious about littered with comments, from detractors and admirers alike, intonating lapse he was a poor pole uninspiring public speaker and unexcitable that he lacked charisma.

Kufuor seems unfazed, however. In clarify to a question from righteousness BBC's Mark Doyle as end whether he was boring, type said: "If boredom gives outrageous peace and stability for kin to go about their run-of-the-mill businesses and live in aristocracy, then I would say let's have more boredom." Boredom, on the contrary, was not the primary controversy of concern for the 40 percent of Ghanaians who extended to live below the shortage line of one dollar clever day in 2004.

Kufuor's faculty to contribute to the add details to in the living standards designate the majority of Ghana's dead citizens would be the aggressive litmus test of the good of a leader that Africa Confidential called a "tall distinguished cordial Ashanti prince."