Joseph Emmanuel Appiah, MP ( ; 16 November, 1918 – 8 July, 1990)Eric Pace
"Joe Appiah Is Dead; Ghanaian Politician And Ex-Envoy, 71"
''New York Times'', July 12, 1990. was 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 A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

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 ...

and statesman.

Biography

He was 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 ...

to Nana James W.K. Appiah and Nana Adwoa Akyaa, members of the Ashanti imperial

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

. His father was a schoolmaster,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

leader, traditional

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

and, finally, Chief Secretary of

Asanteman The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of I ...

- a position which gave him considerable influence in Ashanti affairs. Appiah was educated at Wesley College, Mfantsipim, and the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

.Susan Williams
''Colour Bar: The triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation''
Allen Lane, 2006; Penguin Books, 2007, p. xxxiii-iv.

Cameron Duodu Martin Cameron Duodu (born 24 May 1937)''Africa Who's Who'', London: Africa Journal for Africa Books Ltd, 1981, pp. 349–50. is a United Kingdom-based Ghanaian novelist, journalist, editor and broadcaster. After publishing a novel, ''The Gab Boys ...

Obituary of Peggy Appiah
''The Guardian'', 6 March 2006. During his time in 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 ...

, he was closely involved with the

West African Students' Union The West African Students' Union (WASU), founded in London, England, in 1925 and active into the 1960s,"History o ...

(WASU), eventually becoming its president. He came, through residence in London and involvement with WASU, to know many of the main players in the fight against

imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

rule in

and elsewhere in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Not least among these was

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 ...

, to whom he became very close. Nkrumah was Appiah's first choice for best man at his wedding to

Peggy Cripps Enid Margaret "Peggy" Appiah (née Cripps), MBE ( ; 21 May 1921 – 11 February 2006), was a British children's author, philanthropist and socialite. She was the daughter of the Right Honourable Sir Stafford Cripps and Dame Isobel Cripps, and ...

in 1953 ("but the job went to arguably the more influential figure of

George Padmore George Padmore (28 June 1903 – 23 September 1959), born Malcolm Ivan Meredith Nurse, was a leading Pan-Africanist, journalist, and author. He left his native Trinidad in 1924 to study medicine in the United States, where he also joined the Com ...

, a Trinidadian who was political mentor to African nationalist leaders, including Nkrumah and

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

"). Their firstborn child, son

Kwame Kwame is an Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (such as the Ashanti and Fante) in Ghana which is given to a boy born on Saturday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child would receive their Akan day name during their Outdooring, eight da ...

, was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1954, followed by Ama (born 1955), Adwoa (born 1960) and Abena (born 1962). The Appiah family returned to Ghana in late 1954. Soon after, Joe Appiah's close friendship with Kwame Nkrumah was ruined, as he was more popular with the people than Nkrumah. Appiah was later imprisoned for many years by Nkrumah to prevent him from entering national politics. He joined the National Liberation Movement party and won the Atwima-Amansie seat in 1957. The NLM was later to merge with other opposition parties to form the United Party. After the General Afrifa-led coup that overthrew Nkrumah in 1966, he was asked to explain the new regime's motives to Ghana's friends and neighbours. Appiah was intermittently involved in public life as a diplomat and a government minister from then on until his retirement in 1978. He returned to Kumasi, where he continued to fulfil his duties as a tribal elder. Following the death of his grand-uncle Yao Antony, he had become the head of their branch of the nobility of the

Ashanti people The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante ...

. Prior to his own death, he served as the

kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

and titular

overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or serje ...

of Nyaduom, a town that was founded centuries before by his ancestor Nana Akroma-Ampim I. His autobiography ''Joe Appiah: The Autobiography of an African Patriot'' was published in 1990. Kwame Anthony Appiah's ''In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture'' was inspired by his father's easy cosmopolitanism. Joe Appiah died in Accra after an illness and was buried at the Tafo cemetery at Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. His widow would buy and occupy the adjacent plot after her death in 2006."Peggy Appiah" obituary
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 24 February 2006. His tomb was vandalised in 2008 by unknown persons.

Books

* *

References

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appiah, Joe 1918 births 1990 deaths Deaths from cancer in Ghana Ghanaian pan-Africanists Mfantsipim School alumni People from Kumasi Ghanaian activists Ghanaian MPs 1956–1965 Government ministers of Ghana National Liberation Movement (Ghana) politicians United Party (Ghana) politicians Justice Party (Ghana) politicians 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers