Lawrence Rosario Abavana (1920 – 29 May 2004) was a Ghanaian politician and teacher by profession. He served in various ministerial portfolios in the first republic and also served as a member of the council of state in the third republic.Ghanawe
"State burial for Abavana on July 3 at Navrongo"
Ghanaweb, 23 June 2004. He was a member of the Convention People's Party (CPP).

Early life and education

Lawrence was born in 1920 at

Navrongo Navrongo is a town and the capital of Kassena-Nankana District in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Navrongo is the capital of Kassena-Nankana District – which is within the Upper East Region of ...

. He had his early education at the Roman Catholic School in

. He continued at

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The schoo ...

where he was trained as a teacher.

Politics

Member of parliament

He was elected as a member of the legislative assembly in 1951 representing Kassena-Nankana South under the ticket of the Convention People's Party (CPP) that same year, he was appointed ministerial secretary to the minister of communication and works. In 1954, he defeated J. E. Seyire of the

Northern People's Party The Northern People's Party (NPP) was a political party in the Gold Coast which aimed to protect the interests of those in the Northern region of Ghana. The NPP's leader was Simon Diedong Dombo, the traditional chief of Duori in the Upper Reg ...

by 5,795 to 3,344 to retain his seat as a member of the legislative assembly.

Ministerial secretary

In 1951 along with winning the Kassena-Nankana South seat under the ticket of the CPP he was appointed as ministerial secretary to the minister of communication and works. He became ministerial secretary to the minister of agriculture that same year of 1951.

Minister of State

In 1956, he was appointed minister without portfolio. A year later he was given a portfolio – agriculture. As Minister for Agriculture, he led the Ghana delegation to a cocoa conference in September 1957. On 4 November 1957, he was appointed regional commissioner for Northern Ghana (this included the Northern Region the

Upper East Region The Upper East Region is located in north Ghana and is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. The Upper East regi ...

and the

Upper West Region The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest se ...

), and in July 1960, he was appointed

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

. In May 1961, he was appointed Minister for Trade; as the Minister for Trade he led the Ghana delegation to Dahomey in August 1961. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture for the second time in October that same year, and in September 1962, he was appointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting. As information minister, he led the Ghana delegation to the Conference of Information Ministers from Commonwealth African Countries,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

in July 1963. He served as Minister for Health for a second occasion from October 1963 to January 1964. As Minister for Health, he led the Ghana delegation to the Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Conference held in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, United Arab Republic (UAR) in January 1964. He led another delegation in March 1964 to the World Health Assembly,

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. In May 1964, he was appointed Minister for Interior, and in February 1965, Minister for Mines and Mineral Resources. On 11 June 1965, he was reappointed as Minister for Interior. He served in that capacity until the

Nkrumah government Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister and first President of Ghana. Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first government under colonial ...

was overthrown in 1966.

Member of council of State

He was appointed a member of Council of state in the third republic by Hilla Limann which lasted from 1979 to 1981, until Hilla Limann was deposed in a coup by Jerry John Rawlings on 31 December 1981.

Personal life

His hobbies included Tennis. He was a Roman Catholic and he served as the president of the Retired Catholic Workers Association from 1992 until his death.

Death

He died at the age of 84 on 29 May 2004. He was given a state burial in his hometown in Navrongo, Upper East Region on 3 July 2004.

Memorials and legacy

Streets, roads, crescents and junctions have been named in honour of him, most popular amongst them are ones within the Accra Metropolitan specifically in Kotobabi and Maamobi. There are schools within Accra and Northern which have structures named in honour of him, most notable amongst them is the Abavana Cluster of Schools, a basic school in Kotobabi within the Accra Metropolitan area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abavana, Lawrence Rosario 1920 births 2004 deaths Alumni of Achimota School Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians Ghanaian MPs 1951–1954 Ghanaian MPs 1954–1956 Ghanaian MPs 1956–1965 Ghanaian MPs 1965–1966 Interior ministers of Ghana Information ministers of Ghana Agriculture ministers of Ghana Trade ministers of Ghana Ghanaian educators Ghanaian Roman Catholics Health ministers of Ghana People from Upper East Region