Michael Paul Ansah (born 31 October 1928) was a Ghanaian politician who served in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Third Republics. He served as a member of parliament for the Akwamu constituency from 1965 to 1966 and the member of parliament for the Mid-Volta constituency from 1979 to 1981. He also served as the

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 ...

from 1979 to 1981 and the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology from August 1981 to December 1981.

Early life and education

Ansah was born on 31 October 1928 in

Anum Anum is an Guan community in Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region of Ghana, across from the Volta Lake. Location Anum lies about a kilometre east of the Volta Lake. The nearest town to the north is Boso, Ghana, also in the Eastern Region. F ...

, a town in the Eastern Region. He had his early education at the Mampong-Akwapim Primary School from 1935 to 1940. He had his middle school education at the Akropong-Akwapim Middle School and the Begoro Middle School from 1941 to 1942 and from 1942 to 1944 respectively. He entered the Presbyterian Secondary School (now

Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School , country = Ghana , region = Greater-Accra , location = Legon , coordinates = , type = Public high school , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church ...

) in 1945 completing in 1949. He later had his post-secondary education at the Akropong Teacher Training College (now the

Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong The Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong, is a co-educational teacher-training college in Akropong in the Akwapim district of the Eastern Region of Ghana. It has gone through a series of previous names, including the Presbyterian Trainin ...

) where he obtained his Teachers' Certificate 'A'. After a few years in the teaching profession he entered 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 ...

, Legon graduating with a degree in history in 1959. He later read politics and anthropology at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana graduating in 1965. He was the first president and founder of the Students Historical Association at the University of Ghana he was also the founder and first secretary of the Akwamu Youth League in 1958 (now Akwamu Students Union).

Career

Ansah begun teaching at the Presbyterian Secondary School at

Odumase Krobo Krobo Odumase is a town and capital of Lower Manya Krobo Municipal District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School was formerly located here. Prominent sites The town is a proposed site for the construction of ...

until he was transferred to the Institute of Arts and Culture on 30 June 1962. In 1965, he was appointed headmaster of O'Reilly Secondary School.

Politics

In June 1965 Ansah was elected as member parliament for the Akwamu Constituency under the Convention Peoples Party regime. He served in this capacity until February 1966 when 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. On 24th September 1979 when the third republic was ushered in, he entered parliament representing the Mid-Volta constituency on the ticket of the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as 96 of the 227 local go ...

where he was elected as Majority Leader and Leader of the House. That same year, he was appointed a Cabinet Minister under the

and he remained in that post until he was moved to the Ministry for Industry, Science and Technology in 1981. He served in that capacity until the

Limann government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Limann's People's National Party government during the Third Republic of Ghana. The Third Republic was inaugurated on 24 September 1979. It ended with the coup on 31 December 1981, which brought t ...

was ousted by the

Armed Forces Revolutionary Council The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was a group of Sierra Leone soldiers that allied itself with the rebel Revolutionary United Front in the late 1990s. While the AFRC briefly controlled the country in 1998, it was driven from the cap ...

on 31 December 1981.

Personal life

His hobbies included gardening, playing lawn tennis and listening to music. He was married to Mrs Dora Ansah (née Arjarquah), with whom he had 6 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansah, Michael Paul Ansah 1928 births Possibly living people Ghanaian MPs 1965–1966 Ghanaian MPs 1979–1981 Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians National Convention Party (Ghana) politicians 20th-century Ghanaian politicians Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School alumni Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong alumni University of Ghana alumni Akan people

Early life and education

Career

Politics

Personal life

See also

References