Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, (born 26 March 1937) is a

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 ...

ian barrister and judge who served as the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana. History Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast. The body, called the Legislative Council, ...

from 2009 to 2013. She was previously a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana. Following her appointment to the Supreme Court bench, she became the first woman to become a Justice of the Supreme Court of

. She served in that role from 1991 till 2004 when she retired. She was also the first woman to be elected a Speaker of Parliament in the

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

n sub-region.

Early life and education

Born in 1937 to an

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 ...

father and 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 the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

mother from

Aburi Aburi is a town in the Akuapim South Municipal District of the Eastern Region of south Ghana famous for the Aburi Botanical Gardens and the Odwira festival.

, Joyce Bamford-Addo attended St. Mary's Boarding School and Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) Boarding School, along with her sister Cynthia, in Cape Coast for her basic education. She subsequently attended Holy Child School, also in Cape Coast for her secondary education. She proceeded to the

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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for legal training. She joined the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

to train under the apprenticeship system known as

Inns of court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

and was called to the

English Bar Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

in 1961.

Judicial service

Bamford-Addo returned to

after working in the

for a year. She was called to the

Bar in 1962. She started working as an Assistant State Attorney in 1963 and promoted to State Attorney, then subsequently promoted to become a Senior State Attorney before becoming a Principal State Attorney. She rose to become Chief State Attorney in 1973. She was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions in 1976, a position she held for 10 years.

Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana

She was also appointed by

Jerry Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...

as a Supreme Court Judge in 1991, becoming the first female Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana. After working in the public service for several years, she retired voluntarily from the Supreme Court in October 2004. It was allegedly reported that she retired because when she was bypassed for her junior, Justice George Kingsley Acquah, in the appointment of Chief Justice.

Politics

In 1991, during the late

Provisional National Defence Council The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a co ...

(PNDC) era, Bamford-Addo became the Second Deputy Speaker of Ghana's Consultative Assembly, set up to draft what became the 1992 constitution.

Speaker of Parliament

Following the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, she was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana taking over from Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes, serving as the first female to take up that position, and second female to head an arm of government after Georgina Theodora Wood was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana. The election also made her the highest ranked female in Ghana's political history surpassing Georgina Theodora Woods. She became known across in Africa and across the globe joining other female speakers like

Betty Boothroyd Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd (born 8 October 1929) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. From 1992 to 2000, she served as Speaker of the House of ...

in the

and Nancy Pelosi of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

as first female speakers of their respective countries.

Professional association

Bamford-Addo is a member of the Ghana Bar Association, Catholic Lawyers Guild, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the

Commonwealth Lawyers Association The Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) is an organisation of lawyers, law societies and bar associations across the Commonwealth of Nations. The association hosts a conference in a member nation of the commonwealth biennially. History ...

. Whilst working in the public service as a Supreme Court Judge, she also served as a member of the Legal Aid Board and the Judicial Council ( General Legal Council). She served as the representative from

at the several UN Commission on the Status of women international conferences.

Awards and recognition

Bamford-Addo was awarded the best woman of the year by the American Biographical Institute in 2000 due to her zeal and unfettered efforts towards women issues and women empowerment. She is considered as a female pacesetter in law and legislation in

and an inspiration and role model generally to Ghanaian women. She was honoured by Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE) at their Global Women Entrepreneur Trade Fair and Investment Forum in Accra dinner and awards night in 2011 along with other Ghana's first women top office holders Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, first woman Chief Justice, Anna Bossman, first woman Acting Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and Elizabeth Mills-Robertson, first woman Acting

Inspector General of Police An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...

(IGP). In October 2011, she was honored by President John Evans Atta Mills with the Companion of the

Order of the Volta The Order of the Volta is an order of merit from the Republic of Ghana. It was instituted in 1960 and is awarded to people for their outstanding service to the country.

, highest in the Order of Volta awards, in recognition of her outstanding service to Ghana.

Personal life

Bamford-Addo is a devout Christian and worships as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

References

External links

Profile on Parliament of Ghana website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamford-Addo, Joyce Adeline 1937 births Living people Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian Roman Catholics Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana Speakers of the Parliament of Ghana Members of the Inner Temple Ghanaian women judges People from Accra Women members of the Parliament of Ghana Women legislative speakers Alumni of Holy Child High School, Ghana 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers Ghanaian people of English descent