Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

Sir Ofori Atta I, KBE (11 October 1881 – 21 August 1943) was the

Okyenhene Okyenhene is the title of the Tribal King of Akyem Abuakwa Akyem Abuakwa is one of the four states of Akyem in 14th century Africa. Currently, it is part of Ghana. Historically, the Akyem were part of the Adansi Kingdom, which was the first nat ...

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the

Akyem The Akyem are an Akan people. The term Akyem (Akem, Akim or Aki) is used to describe a group of four states: Asante Akyem, Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Kotoku and Akyem Bosome. These nations are located primarily in the eastern region in south Ghana. ...

people and of

Akyem Abuakwa Akyem Abuakwa is one of the four states of Akyem in 14th century Africa. Currently, it is part of Ghana. Historically, the Akyem were part of the Adansi Kingdom, which was the first nation to build buildings out of mud. They were therefore were n ...

, a traditional kingdom that stretches back to the thirteenth century and was one of the most influential kingdoms of the then

Gold Coast Colony The Gold Coast was a British Crown colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa from 1821 until its independence in 1957 as Ghana. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the ad ...

. He ruled from his election in 1912 until his death in 1943. Ofori Atta was educated in

Basel Mission The Basel Mission was a Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' (KEM), found ...

schools and at its Akuropon seminary, now named 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 Training ...

. He left the seminary after two years to work as a solicitor's clerk, and then served in the

West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognition ...

, fighting during the Yaa Asantewaa War. Elected Omanhene of

in 1912, he became a member of the Legislative Council in 1916. In 1934, he led a Gold Coast Delegation to London to petition the British Parliament for official majority of Africans on the legislative council, permanent African representative on the Governor's executive council and eligibility for non-chiefs to be provincial members of the executive council. He was also instrumental in setting up multiple schools, including

Achimota School Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school wa ...

or College (formerly Prince of Wales School), where most colonial Gold Coast leaders and current prominent Ghanaian leaders schooled. "Ofori Atta was the son of a senior official of the palace; his mother was the descendant of one of the founders of the kingdom.... Once in power, he was determined to return Akyem Abuakwa to its former glory." He created the

Ofori-Atta {{short description, Surname list The Ofori-Atta family is composed of the bearers of an Akan language patronymic surname and their relatives. The family is of royal Akyem origins and has been active in business, politics, law and government in Ghan ...

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

by privileging education both amongst his sons and daughters, through two paths, “one firmly rooted in a concern for binding the state by the traditionally sanctioned method of multiple marriage and the other rooted in his strong case for ‘modernisation’ and ‘progress’.”

Family

He was the brother of Dr

J. B. Danquah Joseph Kwame Kyeretwie Boakye Danquah (18 December 1895 – 4 February 1965) was a Ghanaian politician, scholar, lawyer, and one of the founding fathers of Ghana. He played a significant role in pre- and post-colonial Ghana, which was former ...

(a founding member of the

United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was a political party founded in 1947 whose aim was to bring about Ghanaian independence from their British colonial masters after the Second World War. The United Gold Coast Convention appointed its leade ...

). He was the father of Aaron Ofori-Atta, (the fourth Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, a Minister of Communications and Minister of Local Government),

Adeline Akufo-Addo Adeline Sylvia Eugenia Ama Yeboakua Akufo-Addo (née Nana Yeboakua Ofori-Atta; 17 December 1917 – 21 March 2004) was a First Lady in the second republic of Ghana as the wife of Edward Akufo-Addo and mother of Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo. ...

, (First Lady under the Second Republic),

William Ofori Atta William Ofori Atta (10 October 1910 – 14 July 1988), popularly called "Paa Willie", was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and one of the founding fathers of Ghana, as one of "The Big Six" detained by the British col ...

(a Minister of Foreign Affairs, Presidential Candidate of the UNC), Dr

Kwesi Amoako-Atta Kwesi Amoako-Atta (18 December 1920 – 1983) was a Ghanaian banker and politician. During the First Republic, he served as the Minister for Finance from 1964 to 1966. He also served as a member of parliament for the Akim Abuakwa West constitue ...

(Governor of Bank of Ghana and

Minister for Finance and Economic Planning The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is the Ghanaian government official responsible for the Ministry of Finance of Ghana. The Minister for Finance since January 2017 has been Ken Ofori-Atta, co-founder and former Chairman of the Databan ...

under the First Republic), Dr

Jones Ofori Atta Akwasi Andrews Jones Amoako Atta Ofori Atta (7 December 1937 – 30 November 2020) was a Ghanaian economist and politician. He was an academic in economics at the University of Ghana and served as ministerial secretary (deputy minister) fo ...

(Deputy

under the

Busia government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Busia's Progress Party government during the Second Republic of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Gu ...

), and Susan Ofori-Atta (the first female doctor in Ghana). He was the grandfather of

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

, (Current

President of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is Nana Akufo-Addo, who won the 2020 presidential elec ...

),Trip Down Memory Lane
/ref>

Ken Ofori-Atta Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta (born 7 November 1958), is a Ghanaian investment banker who serves as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinet of Nana Akufo-Addo. He was a co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian financial ser ...

, (Ghana's current

and founder of the Databank Group),

Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin is the 35th Chief of Akyem Abuakwa, also called Okyeman in the Eastern Region of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea ...

(the Okyenhene, current King of Akyem Abuakwa),

Samuel Atta Akyea Samuel Atta Akyea (born 20 August 1962) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. A member of the New Patriotic Party of Ghana, he served as the Minister for Works and Housing until January 2021, and the current Member of Parliament of Akim Abuakwa ...

(Minister of Works and Housing) and the writer

Nana Oforiatta Ayim Nana Oforiatta Ayim is a Ghanaian writer, art historian and filmmaker. Background Nana Ofosuaa Oforiatta Ayim was raised in Germany, England, and her ancestral homeland in Ghana. She studied Russian and Politics at the University of Bristol and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ofori Atta I 1881 births 1943 deaths 20th-century rulers in Africa Akan people Ghanaian Freemasons Ghanaian Presbyterians Ghanaian Protestants History of Ghana British colonial army soldiers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire 1 Ghanaian royalty Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong alumni