Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, (born 26 March 1937) 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 barrister and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

who served as the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana. History Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast. The body, called the Legislative Council, ...

from 2009 to 2013. She was previously a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana. Following her appointment to the Supreme Court bench, she became the first woman to become a Justice of the Supreme Court of

. She served in that role from 1991 till 2004 when she retired. She was also the first woman to be elected a Speaker of Parliament in the

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

n sub-region.

Early life and education

Born in 1937 to an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

father and a

Ghanaian 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 Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

mother from

Aburi Aburi is a town in the Akuapim South Municipal District of the Eastern Region (Ghana), Eastern Region of south Ghana famous for the Aburi Botanical Gardens and the Odwira festival.

, Joyce Bamford-Addo attended St. Mary's Boarding School and Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) Boarding School, along with her sister Cynthia, 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 ...

for her basic education. She subsequently attended Holy Child School, also in

for her secondary education. She 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 ...

for legal training. She joined the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

to train under the apprenticeship system known as

Inns of court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

and was called to the

English Bar Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

in 1961.

Judicial service

Bamford-Addo returned to

after working in the

for a year. She was called to the

Bar in 1962. She started working as an Assistant State Attorney in 1963 and promoted to State Attorney, then subsequently promoted to become a Senior State Attorney before becoming a Principal State Attorney. She rose to become Chief State Attorney in 1973. She was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions in 1976, a position she held for 10 years.

Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana

She was also appointed by

Jerry Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...

as a

Supreme Court Judge A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 1991, becoming the first female Justice of the

Supreme Court of Ghana The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Ghana's 1992 constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive arms of government.1992 Constitution Article 125( ...

. After working in the public service for several years, she retired voluntarily from the Supreme Court in October 2004. It was allegedly reported that she retired because when she was bypassed for her junior, Justice

George Kingsley Acquah Justice George Kingsley Acquah (4 March 1942 – 25 March 2007) was the twenty-third (23rd ) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana(the eleventh since independence). He was appointed as Chief Justice on 4 July 2003 and was the incumbent u ...

, in the appointment of Chief Justice.

Politics

In 1991, during the late

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 coup ...

(PNDC) era, Bamford-Addo became the Second Deputy Speaker of Ghana's Consultative Assembly, set up to draft what became the 1992 constitution.

Speaker of Parliament

Following the 2008 presidential and

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, she was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana taking over from

Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes (born 4 September 1939) was the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana between 2005 and 2009. Early life Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes was born on 4 September 1939 at Cape Coast, the capital of the Central Region of Ghana. Fro ...

, serving as the first female to take up that position, and second female to head an arm of government after

Georgina Theodora Wood Georgina Theodora Wood (née Lutterodt; born 8 June 1947) is a Ghanaian judge and also a former police prosecution officer. She was the Chief Justice of Ghana and the first woman to occupy that position. She retired in 2017 after five decades ...

was appointed Chief Justice of the

. The election also made her the highest ranked female in Ghana's political history surpassing Georgina Theodora Woods. She became known across in Africa and across the globe joining other female speakers like

Betty Boothroyd Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd (born 8 October 1929) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. From 1992 to 2000, she served as Speaker of the House of ...

in the

and

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

as first female speakers of their respective countries.

Professional association

Bamford-Addo is a member of the

Ghana Bar Association The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) is a professional association of lawyers in Ghana, including what used to be called solicitors and barristers but are now called legal practitioners, as well as magistrates. By convention all lawyers admitted to pr ...

, Catholic Lawyers Guild,

International Federation of Women Lawyers The International Federation of Women Lawyers (IFWL), in Spanish ''Federación Internacional de Abogadas'' (FIDA), is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that enhances the status of women and children by providing legal aid, legal ...

(FIDA) and the

Commonwealth Lawyers Association The Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) is an organisation of lawyers, law societies and bar associations across the Commonwealth of Nations. The association hosts a conference in a member nation of the commonwealth biennially. History ...

. Whilst working in the public service as a Supreme Court Judge, she also served as a member of the Legal Aid Board and the Judicial Council (

General Legal Council The General Legal Council is the body that regulates the Legal Profession in Ghana. It was set up in 1960 by an act of parliament, The Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32). Its role was to oversee legal education and the legal profession in the cou ...

). She served as the representative from

at the several

UN Commission on the Status of women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main United Nations System, UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the U ...

international conferences.

Awards and recognition

Bamford-Addo was awarded the best woman of the year by the American Biographical Institute in 2000 due to her zeal and unfettered efforts towards women issues and women empowerment. She is considered as a female pacesetter in law and legislation in

and an inspiration and role model generally to Ghanaian women. She was honoured by Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE) at their Global Women Entrepreneur Trade Fair and Investment Forum in Accra dinner and awards night in 2011 along with other Ghana's first women top office holders Justice

, first woman Chief Justice,

Anna Bossman Anna Bossman (born 1 December 1957) is a Ghanaian human rights advocate. She was formerly the director for the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB). In 2017 she was appointed Ghana's ambassador to France. ...

, first woman Acting Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and

Elizabeth Mills-Robertson Elizabeth Mills-Robertson is a former Ghanaian police officer and was the acting Inspector General of Police of the Ghana Police Service The Inspector General of Police (IGP) is the most senior Police Officer in Ghana. The IGP is appointed by the ...

, first woman Acting

Inspector General of Police An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...

(IGP). In October 2011, she was honored by President

John Evans Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party ...

with the Companion of the

Order of the Volta The Order of the Volta is an order of merit from the Republic of Ghana. It was instituted in 1960 and is awarded to people for their outstanding service to the country.

, highest in the Order of Volta awards, in recognition of her outstanding service to Ghana.

Personal life

Bamford-Addo is a devout Christian and worships as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

References

External links

Profile on Parliament of Ghana website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamford-Addo, Joyce Adeline 1937 births Living people Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian Roman Catholics Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana Speakers of the Parliament of Ghana Members of the Inner Temple Ghanaian women judges People from Accra Women members of the Parliament of Ghana Women legislative speakers Alumni of Holy Child High School, Ghana 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers Ghanaian people of English descent