Mark Owen Woyongo (born 9 June 1946) is 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 ...

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 the Ghanaian Minister for the Interior for the Ghanaian Ministry of the Interior. He was also the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the Navrongo Central constituency in

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 ...

. Woyongo first stood for election on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress in the

2008 Ghanaian parliamentary election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2008. Since no candidate received more than 50% of the votes, a run-off election was held on 28 December 2008 between the two candidates who received the most votes, Nana Akufo-Addo of the govern ...

, winning 41.7% of the votes and losing to

Joseph Kofi Adda Joseph Kofi Kowe Adda (22 April 1956 – 14 October 2021) was a Ghanaian politician, who served as a Member of Parliament and also the Minister for Aviation in the New Patriotic Party government under President Akufo-Addo until January 2021. ...

of the

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

by 1,130 votes (3.5%). He was however appointed the Upper East Regional Minister by President Mills in his government in 2009. He was retained in this position by President Mahama following the death of Mills. In 2013, he was nominated by President Mahama for the position of Minister for Defence.

Early life and education

Mark Owen Woyongo was born on 9 June 1946 in

Bolgatanga Bolgatanga ( Frafra: '), colloquially known as ''Bolga'', is a town and the capital of the Bolgatanga Municipal District and Upper East Region of Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Bolgatanga has over 2012 settlement and a populat ...

in 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 ...

of Ghana. He attended Notre Dame Secondary School in

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 ...

in 1966. He completed a Diploma in Journalism from

Ghana Institute of Journalism The Ghana Institute of Journalism is a public university in Ghana. The institute has accreditation from the National Accreditation Board. History The Ghana Institute of Journalism was established on 16 October 1959 by Kwame Nkrumah, the first pre ...

in 1971. He has undertaken many professional courses in Ghana and abroad.

Political career

Mark Owen Woyongo was the Public Relations Officer for the Upper East Regional Administration from 1978 and 1985. He was appointed the Regional Information Officer, Upper East Region in 1985. In 1994, he was appointed the Minister Counselor for Information at the Ghana High Commission in London,

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 ...

. Mark Woyongo was the Minister for the Upper East Region from 2009 – 2012. He survived a fatal accident when returning from the NDC congress held in the Upper East region. He won the 2012 parliamentary elections on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). In 2013, he was appointed Defence Minister and subsequently to the Ministry of the Interior during his tenure as Upper East Regional Minister.

Personal life

Mark Woyongo is married and has two children.

References

External links

Living people Ghanaian Roman Catholics Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017 Defence ministers of Ghana Interior ministers of Ghana National Democratic Congress (Ghana) politicians Ghanaian civil servants Cabinet Ministers of Ghana 1946 births {{ghana-politician-stub

Early life and education

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

External links