George Akilagpa Sawyerr, (born 24 March 1939) is a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. He is a professor in the field of law and has served in various universities in Ghana and abroad. He is a former vice-chancellor of the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

and also a former president of the

Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) is a learned society for the arts and sciences based in Accra, Ghana. The institution was founded in November 1959 by Kwame Nkrumah with the aim to promote the pursuit, advancement and dissemination ...

Early life and education

George was born on 24 March 1939 to Akilagpa Sawyerr and Charlotte Amy (''née'' Mettle) Sawyerr. He attended

Achimota School Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school wa ...

, where he received his Cambridge Certificate in 1956 and his Cambridge Higher Certificate in 1958. He studied at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

for his bachelor of laws degree (LL.B). He received his Master of Laws degree (LL.M) from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. He received his doctorate in Juridical Science (JSD) from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972.

Career

Akilagpa joined the teaching faculty of the

University of Dar Es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in 1 ...

in 1964 as lecturer and later on a senior lecturer. In 1969 he was appointed director of the university's research center, a position he held until 1970. He moved to Ghana that same year and was employed at the

as a lecturer at the faculty of law. In 1979 he worked as a professor of law at the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

. He worked there until 1985 when he was appointed vice-chancellor of the

. He served in that capacity until 1992. In 1993 he was appointed director of research for the

Association of African Universities The Association of African Universities (AAU) ( ar, اتحاد الجامعات الأفريقية, french: Association des universités africaines) is a university association of African universities based in Accra, Ghana. With member institution ...

, rising to the position of Secretary-General of the Association from 2003 to 2008. In 2015, he was elected president of the

Publications

Akilgpa has authored many books, chapters and articles that have been published in journals. His interest are mostly focused on legal matters and higher education in Africa. Some of his books include: *''The Student Loans Scheme: Two Decades of Experience in Ghana'' (2001) *''The Politics of Adjustment Policy'' (1988) *''Challenges Facing African Universities: Selected Issues'' (2002) *''The Political Dimension of Structural Adjustment Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa'' (1990) *''The Doctrine of Precedent in the Court of Appeal for East Africa'' (1971)

Award and legacy

In 2018 he was conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters (D. Litt, Honoris Causa) degree by the

University of Cape Coast The University of Cape Coast is a public collegiate university located in the historic town of Cape Coast. The campus has a rare seafront and sits on a hill overlooking the wide Atlantic Ocean. It operates on two campuses: the Southern Campus (O ...

. The road stretch from the roundabout to the campus of the

was named in his honour.

Personal life

He is married to Judith Sara Quitkin. Together they have two children. His hobbies include tennis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyerr, Akilagpa 1939 births 20th-century Ghanaian educators Alumni of Achimota School Alumni of Durham University Alumni of the University of London Living people Academic staff of the University of Ghana Vice-Chancellors of the University of Ghana Vice-Chancellors of universities in Ghana