Helena Ritz Fathia Nkrumah ( ) (22 February 1932 – 31 May 2007),Ghanaweb
/ref> born Fathia Halim Rizk ( ar, فتحية حليم رزق), was a

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian and the

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

of the newly independent

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 ...

as the wife of

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 ...

, its first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. Fathia Nkrumah was born to a

Christian family and brought up in Zeitoun, a district of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. She was the first child of a civil servant who died early; Fathia was raised by her mother single-handedly after her husband's death.

Early life and career

She was born Fathia Halim Rizk in

Zeitoun, Cairo Zeitoun ( ar, الزيتون meaning olives), also al-Zeitoun, is one of the eight districts that make up the Northern Area in Cairo, Egypt. It has been made famous for its Marian apparitions at the Coptic Church of the Virgin Mary of Zeitoun dur ...

, in 1932. Her father worked as a clerk in an Egyptian telephone company and died early, leaving her mother widowed and having to raise Fathia single-handed. She was the eldest of five children in the family. After completing her secondary education, where she studied French, she worked as a teacher at her school in Zeitoun, Notre Dame des Apôtres. As teaching did not appeal to her, she took a job in a bank.

Marriage

Frederick, an American journalist, who published her book in 1967, said Nkrumah sent his friend, Alhaji Saleh Said Sinare, who was one of the first

Ghanaian Muslims 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 ...

to study in Egypt, to find him a Christian wife from Egypt, and Fathia was one of the final five women chosen. At that stage, Kwame Nkrumah proposed to marry her. Her mother was reluctant to see another of her children marry a foreigner and quit the country, as Fathia's brother had left

with his

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 ...

wife. Fathia explained that Nkrumah was an anti-colonial hero, like Nasser, yet her mother refused to speak to her or bless the marriage. Nkrumah married Fathia at Christianborg Castle, Accra on the evening of the 1957

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

upon her arrival in Ghana.

Leaving Ghana and later life

Fathia Nkrumah was the mother of three young children when her husband was overthrown in Ghana's first successful military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

on 24 February 1966. She had to take her children to Cairo, to be raised there while her husband went into exile in

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

. Her children have all gone on to have careers relating to politics. Her daughter,

Samia Nkrumah Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah (born 23 June 1960) is a Ghanaian politician and chairperson of the Convention People's Party (CPP). In the 2008 parliamentary election, she won the Jomoro constituency seat at her first attempt. She is the daughte ...

, was the chairperson of the Convention People's Party (CPP), the Ghanaian political party that her father founded, from 2011 to 2015.

Death

Fathia died on 31 May 2007 at Badrawy Hospital in Cairo due to a stroke after a period of illness. Her memorial mass was held in the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral Church in Cairo by

Pope Shenouda III Pope Shenouda III (; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ϣⲉⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲅ̅ '; ar, بابا الإسكندرية شنودة الثالث '; 3 August 1923 – 17 March 2012) was the List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria, 117th ...

on 1 June 2007. Subsequently, Fathia Nkrumah's bodily remains were flown to Ghana for a funeral at the State House and, following her "lifelong request", was buried next to her husband at the

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park The Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum and memorial park is located in downtown Accra, the capital of Ghana. History It is dedicated to the prominent Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghan ...

References

External links