Alfred Oko Vanderpuije (born 4 November 1955) Newghana.org
Alfred Vanderpuije Ed.S.
is a

Ghana 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 the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian educationist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who currently serves as a member of parliament. He is currently the

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Ablekuma South Constituency in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. His Dutch

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

reflects his Euro-African descent. The ancestors of Vanderpuije originally came from

Sint-Maartensdijk Sint-Maartensdijk is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Tholen, and lies about 16 km west of Bergen op Zoom. History Sint-Maartensdijk was founded as 'Haestinge', and renamed when it got a ch ...

on the former island of

Tholen Tholen () is a 25,000 people municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen takes its name from the town of Tholen, which is the largest population center in the municipality. The municipality consists of two peninsu ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. His ancestor, Jacobus van der Puije was Governor of the

Dutch Gold Coast The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1612. ...

in 1780.

Early life

A Jamestown native, he was born and bred at Mamprobi, Darkuman and Dansoman at various stages of his childhood.

Education

Vanderpuije studied at Accra Teacher Training College for a 3-year Post Secondary in Education. He holds a Masters in Education from Mid America Nazarene College and a Specialist in Education Administration from the

University of Missouri Kansas City A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, U.S.A.

Political career

As Mayor of Accra

He was the former

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, installed in that office by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

John Atta Mills in 2009 and he was maintained in that office by President John Dramani Mahama, completing his second term in 2017.

As Member of Parliament

Vanderpuije was elected to the Parliament of Ghana in the 2016 elections on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to represent the Ablekuma South Constituency in the Greater Accra Region for a four-year term. He won the elections with 31,927 votes out of the 59,041 valid votes cast representing 54.36% of the votes. As an MP, he is a member of Foreign Affairs Committee and House Committee of Parliament.

Personal life

Vanderpuije lost his wife Gifty Naa Adei Vanderpuije in 2012, when she died at

Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) is a public teaching hospital located in the Ablekuma South Metropolitan District in Accra, Ghana. It is the only public tertiary hospital in the southern part of the country. It is a teaching hospital affiliate ...

. In 2019, Vanderpuije got remarried to Cynthia Amerley Ayiku after seven years of losing his wife.

Legacy

On the night of Thursday 9 September 2021, he directed traffic on the Sakaman Junction to the Dansoman roundabout stretch. He decided to direct traffic when the police were absent. His actions brought relief to users using that road.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderpuije, Alfred 1955 births Living people Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian people of Dutch descent People from Accra Mayors of Accra Vanderpuije family of Ghana Ghanaian Seventh-day Adventists Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021 National Democratic Congress (Ghana) politicians Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025