Anna Bossman (born 1 December 1957) 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 human rights advocate. She was formerly the director for the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department of the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

(AfDB). In 2017 she was appointed Ghana's ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Education

Born in

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

, Ghana, to Dr Jonathan Emmanuel Bossman, former Ghana' representative at

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, and Alice Decker. Anna Bossman attended Holy Child School in

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

, going on to

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 ...

for her high-school education. She graduated from 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 ...

Legon Legon , a suburb of the Ghanaian city Accra, is situated about north-east of the city center in the Accra Metropolis District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Legon is home to the main campus of the University of Ghana. Ghanaia ...

with a

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

degree and from the

Ghana School of Law The Ghana School of Law (GSL) is an educational institution in Ghana for training lawyers. The school is the only one that provides training for law graduates in the Barrister at Law program. The Professional Law Course is designed for Law Gradu ...

in 1980, being called to the Ghana Bar that year.

Career

After serving as an Assistant State Attorney in Ghana's

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

, Bossman went into private practice, and over the subsequent 25 years would pursue a career in the oil and gas industry and energy sector, working with major international companies including

Tenneco Tenneco (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an aftermarket ride control and emissions products manufacturer. It is a Fortune 50 ...

) in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

(where she was the first woman secretary-general of the Gabonese Union of Petroleum Companies), Congo,

Cote d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, as well as in Ghana, where in 1996 she founded Bossman Consultancy Limited to provide support to power utilities and energy sectors, international institutions and donor agencies as well as private companies and business investors. She was Deputy Commissioner of Ghana's

Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice(CHRAJ) is an independent governmental organization charged with safeguarding of human rights and investigating human rights abuses in Ghana. It was established in 1993 by Act 456 of the ...

(CHRAJ) from 2002 to 2010, where she was appointed Acting Commissioner. In July 2011, she was employed by the

African Development Bank Group The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

as Director of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department, in charge of investigations of fraud, corruption and other malpractices.

Diplomatic career

In June 2017 she was appointed Ghana's ambassador to

, and presented her letters of credence to French President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

on 13 October 2017. She was also Ghana's ambassador to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and her country's permanent representative to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Personal life

She was formerly married to

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

's former prime ministerial candidate, Pierre-Claver Damiba; and they had a daughter.

Selected awards

2008 – Ghana Women's achievers Award for excellence in Human Rights and the Law (Ghana National Honorary Awards of Fame)"Meet Our New Ambassador"
, Ghana Embassy, Paris.

References

External links

linkedIn page
1957 births Living people Alumni of Achimota School Ambassadors of Ghana to France Ghanaian human rights activists Women human rights activists University of Ghana alumni Ghana School of Law alumni 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers Ghanaian women lawyers New Patriotic Party politicians Ghanaian women ambassadors Alumni of Holy Child High School, Ghana People from Kumasi 21st-century Ghanaian lawyers 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers {{Ghana-law-bio-stub