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 ...

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 o ...

for Ablekuma South Constituency in the

Greater Accra Region The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the second most populated region, befor ...

of Ghana. His

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

surname reflects his Euro-African descent. The ancestors of Vanderpuije originally came from Sint-Maartensdijk 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 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, 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 ...

of Accra, 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 ...

John Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party ...

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

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