Mahama Mourns Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, Calls for Moment of Silence

October 24, 2025 

President John Dramani Mahama has expressed profound grief over the death of Ghana's former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who passed away at age 76.

Official Notification

On Thursday, October 23, 2025, the President received a delegation comprising her children and other family members at the Jubilee House, who officially informed him of her passing at Ridge Hospital in Accra.

During the swearing-in ceremony of 37 new High Court judges later that day, President Mahama called for a moment of silence in her memory.

"May the Almighty God grant her peaceful rest in His bosom. Amen," he said.

A Life of Service

Born on November 17, 1948, in Cape Coast, Nana Konadu was educated at Ghana International School and Achimota School, where she met her future husband, the late President Jerry John Rawlings. She studied Art and Textiles at the University of Science and Technology (now KNUST) and earned a diploma in Interior Design from the London College of Arts.

She served as First Lady during two significant periods in Ghana's history - in 1979 under the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), and from 1981 to 2001 during the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and the Fourth Republic.

Champion of Women's Empowerment

Beyond her role as First Lady, Nana Konadu founded the 31st December Women's Movement in 1982, which empowered over two million Ghanaian women socially, politically, and economically. Her leadership promoted literacy, child development, family planning, and women's inclusion in governance.

She made history in 2016 as the first woman to contest Ghana's presidency, running on the ticket of the National Democratic Party (NDP), which she founded after leaving the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Lasting Legacy

Nana Konadu was instrumental in making Ghana the first country to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. She also contributed to the passage of the Intestate Succession Law, which secured inheritance rights for widows and reformed discriminatory customary laws.

Her legacy lives on through countless women she inspired to enter politics and take up leadership roles, significantly increasing female representation in Parliament during the 1990s.