The Ministry of Justice & Attorney General's Office of Ghana oversees legal matters that pertain to the State's executive power and drafts any legislation accordingly. The Attorney General is responsible for any civil cases and acts as the defendant on behalf of Ghana. The Ministry of Justice was founded in 1951 as a result of the recommendations made by the Lidbury Commission whereas the position of Attorney General originated in 1877. The

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

is responsible for the Ministry of Justice.

History

The Ministry of Justice was created in 1951 after the Lidbury Commission was established to come up with recommendations upon reviewing the Gold Coast

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. The commission established that the establishment of ministries by the then newly established Gold Coast government, headed by

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 ...

(then Prime Minister and Head of Government Business), was to be modelled under the British Home Office. A Ministry of Justice was then created and headed by P. F. Branigan, an English expatriate. The ministry was to incorporate the duties of the

as it oversaw the Attorney General department. The ministry later became the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General. In 1954 when the first all African government was formed in the Gold Coast, the Ministry of Justice did not exist. It was merged with the Ministry of Interior, and the name of the ministry was; Ministry of Interior. In 1956, when a new government was formed following the re-election of Kwame Nkrumah as Prime Minister, the Ministry of Interior became the Ministry of Interior and Justice, and the Ministry was headed by

Ebenezer Ako-Adjei Dr. Ebenezer Ako Adjei (17 June 1916 – 14 January 2002) was a Ghanaian statesman, politician, lawyer and journalist. He was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the first political party of Ghana (then Gold Coast). A ...

, who became the first Ghanaian responsible for the ministry after Ghana gained its independence in March 1957. Following Ghana's independence in 1957, the Ministry of Interior and Justice was split to form the Ministry of Justice (becoming a ministry on its own) and the Ministry Interior. This time, the Ministry of Justice did not oversee the Attorney General department as a Ministry for the Attorney General had been created on 7 August 1957 and headed by

Geoffrey Bing Geoffrey Henry Cecil Bing CMG QC (24 July 1909 – 24 April 1977) was a British barrister and politician who served as the Labour Member of Parliament for Hornchurch from 1945 to 1955. He was also Attorney General of Ghana. Education and care ...

. Ako-Adjei then became the first Minister of Justice for Ghana from 1957 to 1958. The Ministry was responsible for the functions of the Land Boundaries Settlement Commission, financial and ministerial matters with relation to the

Supreme Court 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 ...

, local court and Customary Law, and foreign processes. In 1958, the ministry was merged with the Ministry of Local Government and

Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta Aaron Eugene Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta, (12 December 1912 – July 1978) was a Ghanaian educator, lawyer and politician who served as the fourth Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana. Early life and education He was born on 12 December 1912 at Kyebi ...

was put at the helm of its affairs. The Ministry was later split in September 1961 to become its own Ministry when the Ministry of Local Government was merged with the Ministry of Interior and headed by Kwaku Boateng. Ofori-Atta remained Minister for Justice from 1961 until 1965 when he was appointed

Speaker of Parliament The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerfo ...

. The Ministry of Justice was then merged with the ministry for the

. The portfolio of the Attorney General consequently became; the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. The Ministry was headed by the then Attorney General; B. E. Kwaw-Swanzy. From then onwards to date, the Ministry of the Attorney General has been incorporated with the Ministry of Justice.

List of ministers

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:left;" , - bgcolor=cccccc ! Number ! Minister ! Portfolio ! Took office ! Left office ! Government ! Party , - , rowspan=2, 1 , , rowspan=2,

, , Minister for Interior and Justice , , 1956 , , August 1957 , , rowspan=5,

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 r ...

, , rowspan=5, Convention People's Party , - , Minister for Justice , , August 1957 , , 1958 , - , rowspan=2, 2 , , rowspan=2,

, , Minister for Justice and Local Government , , 1958 , , September 1961 , - , Minister for Justice , , September 1961 , , 1965 , - , 3 , ,

Bashiru Kwaw-Swanzy Bashiru Kwaw-Swanzy (25 October 1921 – 15 September 1997) was a Ghanaian politician, who served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the First Republic. Born Benard Edward Kwaw-Swanzy, he was also known as Bartholomew Ebassuah Kwaw-S ...

, , rowspan=26, Minister for Justice and Attorney General, , 1965 , , February 1966 , - , 4, , Victor Owusu , , 1966 , , April 1969 , , rowspan=2, National Liberation Council, , rowspan=2, Military government , - , rowspan=2, 5 , , rowspan=2,

Nicholas Yaw Boafo Adade Nicholas Yaw Boafo Adade (1927–2013) was a former supreme court judge and Attorney General of the Republic of Ghana. He was the Attorney General of Ghana between 14 April 1969 to 1970 in the Busia government. He was also Member of Parliamen ...

, , April 1969 , , September 1969 , - , , 14 September 1969 , , January 1971 , , rowspan=2, Busia government , , rowspan=2, Progress Party , - , 6, , Victor Owusu , , January 1971 , , 12 January 1972 , - , 7, , Edward Nathaniel Moore , , 13 January 1972 , , 8 October 1975 , , National Redemption Council , , Military government , - , 8, ,

Gustav Koranteng-Addow Gustav Koranteng-Addow (1918-1988) was the Attorney General of Ghana from 9 October 1975 to January 1979 under the Supreme Military Council. Early life and education Gustav Koranteng-Addow was born on 25 October 1918 at Akropong–Akuapem ...

, , 9 October 1975 , , January 1979 , , Supreme Military Council , , Military government , - , 9 , , Austin N. E. Amissah , , 1 January 1979 , , 23 September 1979 , , Armed Forces Revolutionary Council , , Military government , - , 10 , , Joe Reindorf , , 24 September 1979 , , August 1981 , , rowspan=2 ,

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 ...

, , rowspan=2 , People's National Party , - , 11 , , A. L. Djabatey, , 1 October 1981 , , 31 December 1981 , - , 12 , , G. E. K. Aikins , , 25 June 1982 , , 1988 , , rowspan=2, Provisional National Defence Council , , rowspan=2, Military government , - , 13 , , A. O. Tanoh , , 14 December 1988 , , 1 April 1993 , - , 14 , ,

Anthony Forson Anthony Forson is a Ghanaian politician, lawyer and diplomat. He was the Attorney General of Ghana from 1 March 1993 to 30 October 1993, and Ghana's High Commissioner to India from 1994 to 1997. Forson was called to the Ghana Bar in 1964. Duri ...

, , 1 March 1993 , , 30 October 1993 , , rowspan=3 ,

Rawlings government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Jerry Rawlings's National Democratic Congress government during the Fourth Republic of Ghana. This started on January 7, 1993, after 11 years of military rule by Rawlings. He retired from the Ghana ...

, , rowspan=3 , National Democratic Congress , - , , ,

Obed Asamoah Obed Yao Asamoah (born 6 February 1936) is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic and politician. Asamoah was the longest serving foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana under Jerry Rawlings from 1981 to 1997. Asamoah was educated at King's Coll ...

(Acting AG) , , November 1993 , , May 1997 , - , 15 , ,

, , May 1997 , , 6 January 2001 , - , 16 , , Nana Akufo-Addo , , 1 February 2001 , , 24 April 2003 , , rowspan=4,

Kufuor government This is a list of the ministers who have served in John Kufuor's New Patriotic Party government during the Fourth Republic of Ghana. This government started on January 7, 2001, the first changeover between civilian governments in Ghana through the ...

, , rowspan=4, New Patriotic Party , - , 17 , ,

Papa Owusu-Ankomah Papa Owusu-Ankomah (born 27 April 1958) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party. He served as Member of Parliament for the Sekondi constituency from 1996 to 2016. In June 2017 Papa Owusu-Ankomah was app ...

, , 1 April 2003 , , 2005 , - , 18 , , J. Ayikoi Otoo , , 1 February 2005 , , 2006 , - , 19 , , Joe Ghartey , , 16 June 2006 , , 7 January 2009 , - , 20 , ,

Betty Mould-Iddrisu Betty Nah-Akuyea Mould-Iddrisu (born 22 March 1953) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. A member of the National Democratic Congress, she was Minister for Education in Ghana from 2011 to 2012, after serving as Attorney General and Minister f ...

st female ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

'', , 2009 , , 2011 , , rowspan=3, Mills government , , rowspan=5, National Democratic Congress , - , 21 , , Martin Amidu , , 4 January 2011 , , 2012 , - , rowspan=2, 22 , , rowspan=2,

Benjamin Kunbuor Benjamin Bewa-Nyog Kumbuor was the Ghanaian Minister for Defence of the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence and a Ghanaian politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the Nandom constituency. Education His last name is also reported as Kunbuor. K ...

, , 25 January 2012 , , 24 October 2012 , - , 24 October 2012 , , 7 January 2013 , , rowspan=2, Mahama government , - , 23 , ,

Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong (born in Tema), is a Ghanaian female legal practitioner and a former Attorney General of Ghana and Minister for Justice of Ghana. She was appointed by President Mahama in 2013. She is the second woman to hold this o ...

, , February 2013 , , 7 January 2017 , - , 24 , , Gloria Akuffo , , February 2017{{Cite web, url=http://citifmonline.com/2017/01/10/gloria-akuffo-nominated-as-attorney-general/, title=Gloria Akuffo nominated as Attorney General, last=Adogla-Bessa, first=Delali, date=2017-01-10, website=Ghana News, access-date=2017-06-01 , , January 2021 , , rowspan=2, Akuffo Addo government , , rowspan=2, New Patriotic Party , - , 25 , ,

Godfred Yeboah Dame Godfred Yeboah Dame (born 5 June 1979) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party. He was previously the deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice. He is currently the Attorney General. Early life and ed ...

, , January 2021 , , ''Incumbent'' See

Attorney General of Ghana The Attorney General of Ghana is the chief legal advisor to the Ghanaian government. The attorney general is also responsible for the Ministry of Justice (Ghana), Ministry of Justice. The Attorney General also serves as a member of the General Leg ...

References

Justice ministries Ministries and Agencies of State of Ghana Attorneys General of Ghana Justice ministers of Ghana 1954 establishments in Gold Coast (British colony)

History

List of ministers

See also

References