George Emmanuel Kwesi Aikins (born 2 September 1923; died 17 April 2013"1st Anniversary in the cherished memory of a patriarch for all seasons his lordship Justice George Emmanuel Kwesi Aikins," ''Daily Graphic,'' Issue 19437, p. 50, 17 April 2014. @Google Books
Retrieved 19 December 2022.) was a lawyer and politician. He served as Attorney General and secretary for Justice of

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 ...

during the PNDC government. He also served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana in the fourth republic.

Early life and education

Aikins was born on 2 September 1923. His early education begun in 1934 at Ahmadiya Primary School. In 1942 he was sent to the African Methodist Episcopal School at Cape Coast, he studied there for a year. He had private studies and part-time studies as well. He is alleged to have been a member of the students that rioted against the arrest of the big six in 1948 as a student of

Mfantsipim School Mfantsipim is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High School and ...

. He continued at 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 1958 and received his diploma in law in 1961. He was a member of the first nine students that were enrolled as lawyers from the school on 22 June 1963. He also studied as an external student of 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 ...

Career and politics

Aikins joined the civil service in 1949 as a second division clerk and later a senior executive officer. He served in that capacity until 1963 when he was called to the Ghanaian bar. That same year he took office as an assistant state attorney he later rose to the ranks of chief state attorney in 1976. He was an adviser to the National House of Chiefs from 1973 to 1976 and a member of the Police Council from 1979 to 1981. He was also a member of the Prisons Service Board in 1979. In 1982 he was appointed Secretary of Justice and Attorney General by the

Provisional National Defence Council The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a co ...

. He served in this position until 1988. He was later appointed justice of the supreme Court of Ghana. He retired on 2 September 1998.

Personal life

He was married with seven children. His hobbies included football, gardening and table tennis. According to an anniversary tribute in the ''Daily Graphic'' publication, April 17, 2014 marked the one-year anniversary of Aikins' death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aikins, G. E. K. 1923 births 2013 deaths Akan people Mfantsipim School alumni Justice ministers of Ghana Attorneys General of Ghana 20th-century Ghanaian judges Alumni of the University of London Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana Ghana School of Law alumni

Early life and education

Career and politics

Personal life

See also

References