Haruna Iddrisu (born 8 September 1970) 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 lawyer and politician who is a member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing Tamale South. He served as the Minority Leader for NDC in Ghana's Parliament from January 2017 and was succeeded by Ato Forson.

Early life and education

Haruna Iddrisu was born in 1970 at

Tamale, Ghana Tamale (Dagbani : ), officially called Tamale Metropolitan Area is the capital city of the Northern Region of Ghana. Tamale is Ghana's third-largest city and an emerging investment hotspot in West Africa. It has a projected population of 950,1 ...

.He started his early education at Kulikuli school. Iddrisu studied at 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 ...

between 1993 and 1997 where he obtained B.A. (Hons) in

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. He was active in student politics and was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students during his final year. Iddrisu is also a barrister and has been a member of the Ghana Bar Association since 2002.

Political career

After being a student leader for years in his tertiary education period, Iddrisu transitioned into mainstream national politics and rose to become the National Youth Organizer for the National Democratic Congress in 2002. He held that position for 8 years even whilst Minister of Communications until stepping down in 2010 and not seeking reelection.

As Member of Parliament

He stood for MP in the 2004 parliamentary election in the then newly formed Tamale South constituency. Iddrisu served as the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications and also the Minority Spokesman on Communications in the fourth Parliament when the National Democratic Congress,his party was in opposition. He retained his seat in the 2008 parliamentary election by gaining 78.2% of the total votes cast. He once again retained his seat in the 2012 parliamentary elections by getting 74.6% of the total votes cast. Even though his party lost the Presidential Elections, Haruna retained his seat in the 2016 Elections and was selected to lead the minority caucus as the Minority Leader of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic in Ghana. Haruna Iddrisu in January 2020, donated a CHPS compound to the Duunyin community in the Northern region of Ghana to provide health care services to the indigents of the community.

As Minister of state

He has held various positions in government, including Minister for Communications under the Mills and Mahama governments as well as Minister for Trade between 2013 and 2014. He was appointed the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations by President Mahama in July 2014.

Personal life

He is a married Muslim, has 3 children and hails from the Northern Region of Ghana.

References

External links

Profile on Ghana government website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iddrisu, Haruna Living people 1970 births Communications ministers of Ghana Trade ministers of Ghana Ghanaian MPs 2005–2009 Ghanaian MPs 2009–2013 Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017 University of Ghana alumni National Democratic Congress (Ghana) politicians Dagomba people Ghanaian Muslims People from Tamale, Ghana Government ministers of Ghana Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021 21st-century Ghanaian politicians 21st-century Ghanaian lawyers Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025