Professor George Panyin Hagan (born 1938), is a prominent

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Early life and education

George Hagan was born in

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, , ...

in 1938. He had his basic education in Accra,

Koforidua Koforidua, also popularly known as K-dua or Kofcity, is a city and the capital of Eastern Region in southern Ghana. Koforidua was founded in 1875 by migrants from Ashanti. It is also called New Juaben. The city has a settlement city proper popu ...

Sekondi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indus ...

and

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 ...

because his parents, civil servants, were being transferred. His secondary education was at St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in

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s, a suburb of Accra and sixth form (college) at St. Augustine's College at

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 ...

. He proceeded to 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 ...

, where he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(Honours) degree in

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and later a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in

as well. He proceeded to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

where he obtained a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

Social Anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Career

He first worked at the Scholarship Secretariat in Ghana as a Welfare Officer between 1962 and 1964. In 1968, he became a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the

Institute of African Studies The Institute of African Studies on the Anne Jiagee road on campus of the University of Ghana at Legon is an interdisciplinary research institute in the humanities and social sciences. It was established by President Kwame Nkrumah in 1962 to encou ...

of the

. He rose to become

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

in 1994 and the Director of the Institute in the 1997/1998 academic year. He has served on many committees within the university as well as in outside institutions such as member of the Board of Directors, State Construction Corporation, Chairman of the Academic Committee of National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) and member of the Board of Governors of Aquinas and St. Augustine Secondary Schools. He is the Chairman of the Ghana National Commission on Culture and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG).

Politics

Prof. Hagan was involved with the CPP from the days of

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

in the mid-1960s. He was also a member of the

National Alliance of Liberals The National Alliance of Liberals (NAL) was a political party in Ghana during the Second Republic (1969–1972). The party was formed after the ban on party politics was lifted in May 1969 and was dissolved along with all other political part ...

in the Second Republic and a Standing Committee member of the

Action Congress Party The Action Congress Party (ACP) was a political party in Ghana during the Third Republic (1979-1981). In elections held on 18 June 1979, ACP presidential candidate, Frank Bernasko, won 9.4% of the vote and the party won 10 of 140 seats in the Nat ...

in the Third Republic. He was the Presidential aspirant for the National Independence Party for the 1992 presidential election. He was a member of the

People's Convention Party The People's Convention Party is a former political party in Ghana. It merged with the National Convention Party in 1996 and became the reformed Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a Socialism, socialist politic ...

PCP Team for Unity Talks with the

National Convention Party National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

NCP and the People's National Convention PNC which led to the reformation of the CPP in 1996. George Hagan was the presidential candidate for the CPP in the

2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...

. He won 1.78% of the votes, coming fourth in the first round of the election, thereby missing the cut for the second round.

Family

George Hagan is married to Dr Maria Hagan, the Director of the National Eye Care Programme in Ghana. They have three children.

Publication

*Hagan, George P. ''Nkrumah's Cultural Policy'', University of Ghana, Legon, 1985.

Notes

External links

Profile on Ghana Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagan, George Panyin 1938 births Living people University of Ghana alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of the University of Ghana National Alliance of Liberals politicians National Independence Party (Ghana) politicians Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians People educated at St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School Candidates for President of Ghana Fante people St. Augustine's College (Cape Coast) alumni