Nana Akufo-Addo
Nana Akufo-Addo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Akufo-Addo in 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th President of Ghana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 7 January 2017 – 7 January 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vice President | Mahamudu Bawumia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | John Mahama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Mahama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 35th Chair of Economic Community of West African States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 2 June 2020 – 3 July 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mahamadou Issoufou | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Umaro Sissoco Embaló | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo 29 March 1944 Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | New Patriotic Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses | Remi Fani-Kayode (divorced)Eleanor Nkansah-Gyamenah
(deceased) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Campaign website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
William Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (/æˈkʊfoʊ ɑːˈdoʊ/ ⓘ a-KUUF-oh ah-DOH; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the 13th president of Ghana from January 2017 to January 2025. He 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.
Akufo-Addo first ran for president in the year 2008 and again in 2012, both times as the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He lost on both occasions to National Democratic Congress' candidates: John Evans Atta Mills in 2008 and John Dramani Mahama in 2012. After the 2012 general elections, he refused to concede and proceeded to court to challenge the electoral results, but the Supreme Court of Ghana affirmed Mahama's victory.
He 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 (winning with 53.85% of the votes), which marked the first time in a Ghanaian presidential election that an opposition candidate won a majority outright in the first round. It was also the first time that an opposition candidate had unseated an incumbent president. He again secured an outright majority in the first round of the 2020 general elections (winning with 51.59% of the vote), defeating Mahama for a second time.
Akufo-Addo's government initially drew broad popularity from the Ghanaian public, promoting a nationalistic 'Ghana beyond aid' agenda. The latter part of his tenure, however, was marked by the worst Ghanaian financial crises in a generation, with inflation reaching up to 40% in both 2022 and 2023. His government attributed this to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine, but many observers pointed to mismanagement of public funds. As he was term-limited, he peacefully handed over power to the NDC's Mahama on 7 January 2025 after the incumbent NPP lost power amid the unpopularity of his administration.