Ako Adjei

Ako Adjei
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
May 1961 – August 1962
PresidentKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byNew portfolio
Succeeded byKwame Nkrumah
Minister for External Affairs
In office
April 1959 – May 1961
Prime MinisterKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byKojo Botsio
Succeeded byPortfolio changed
Resident Minister to Guinea
In office
February 1959 – September 1959
Prime MinisterKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byNathaniel Azarco Welbeck
Succeeded byJ. H. Allassani
Minister for Labour and Cooperatives
In office
1958 – February 1959
Prime MinisterKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byNathaniel Azarco Welbeck
Succeeded byNathaniel Azarco Welbeck
Minister for Justice
In office
August 1957 – 1958
Prime MinisterKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byKofi Asante Ofori-Atta (Minister for Justice and Local Government)
Minister for Interior and Justice
In office
29 February 1956 – August 1957
Governor GeneralCharles Arden-Clarke
Prime MinisterKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byArchie Casely-Hayford (Minister for Interior)
Succeeded byKrobo Edusei (Minister for Interior)
Minister for Trade and Labour
In office
1954 – 29 February 1956
Governor GeneralCharles Arden-Clarke
Prime MinisterKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byEdward Okyere Asafu-Adjaye
Member of the Ghana Parliament
for Accra East
In office
15 June 1954 – August 1962
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byEhi Wanyalolo Note Dowuona
Personal details
Born
Ebenezer Ako Adjei

17 June 1916
Adjeikrom, Akyem Abuakwa, Ghana
Died14 January 2002(2002-01-14) (aged 85)
Accra, Ghana
Political partyConvention People's Party
Other political
affiliations
United Gold Coast Convention
SpouseTheodosia Kotei-Amon
Children3
Residence(s)Accra, Ghana
EducationAccra Academy
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician
Signature
One of "The Big Six" in Ghana's independence struggle

Ako Adjei (17 June 1916 – 14 January 2002),[1] was a Ghanaian statesman, politician, lawyer and journalist. He was a member of the United Gold Coast Convention and one of six leaders who were detained during Ghana's struggle for political independence from Britain, a group famously called The Big Six.[2][3] Adjei became a member of parliament as a Convention People's Party candidate in 1954 and held ministerial offices until 1962 when as Minister for Foreign Affairs he was wrongfully detained for the Kulungugu bomb attack.[4]

Born in Adjeikrom, a small village in the Akyem Abuakwa area, Ako Adjei had his tertiary education in the United States and the United Kingdom. After his studies abroad, he returned home to join the movement of Gold Coast's struggle for political independence by joining the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) as a founding member. Ako Adjei was instrumental in introducing Kwame Nkrumah into Ghana's political scene when he recommended him for the full time post of Organising Secretary of the UGCC.[5]

Following Ghana's Independence, Ako Adjei served in various political portfolios including being the first Minister for Interior and Justice for the newly born nation, Ghana. He also became Ghana's first Minister of Foreign Affairs when the portfolio was changed from Minister for External Affairs to Minister for Foreign Affairs in May 1961. Ako Adjei's political career was however precluded after his detention for allegedly plotting to assassinate the then president Kwame Nkrumah in the Kulungugu bomb attack in 1962.

After his release in 1966, Ako Adjei spent the rest of his life in relative obscurity. He remained unseen or unheard in the Ghanaian national and political discourse. He resolved to focus on his family and his career as a legal practitioner. In 1992 he published a biography of the Ghanaian businessman and statesman George Grant.[6] In 1997 he was awarded the Order of the Star of Ghana award – the highest national award of the Republic of Ghana, for his contribution to the struggle for Ghana's independence. Ako Adjei died after a short illness in 2002.[7]

  1. ^ Duodu, Cameron (March 2002). "Ako Adjei--the Walking History of Ghana:Cameron Duodu on One of the Founding Fathers of Ghanaian Independence Who Died in Accra on 14 January". New African. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Big six enduring lessons from the founding fathers of Ghana". GhanaWeb. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  3. ^ Afful, Aba (16 October 2019). "Meet Dr. Ako-Adjei the only Big Six member who lived through 9 governments". Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Ghana pays tribute to founders' - Graphic Online". graphic ghana. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  5. ^ Ellison, Kofi (22 February 2002). "Dr. Ebenezer Ako Adjei - An Appreciation". Ghana Web. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 14 April 2007.
  6. ^ Adjei, Ako (1992). Life and work of George Alfred Grant (Paa Grant). Accra: Waterville Pub. House. ISBN 978-9964-5-0233-1. OCLC 32650474.
  7. ^ "Big Six Enduring Lessons From The Founding Fathers Of Ghana". Retrieved 26 August 2021.