Ghana’s former First Lady and women’s rights advocate, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, has died aged 76 after a brief illness.
Ghana’s former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, has died at the age of 76.
Presidential spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu confirmed that she passed away on Thursday morning after a short illness. She was the widow of Ghana’s longest-serving leader, Jerry John Rawlings, who died five years ago after leading two coups and later serving as an elected president.
Tributes have flooded social media for Agyeman-Rawlings, celebrated for her activism and political influence. Her family visited President John Mahama, leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) — the party founded by her late husband — to officially inform him of her passing.
As First Lady, Agyeman-Rawlings founded the 31st December Women’s Movement, which championed women’s empowerment and community development. Her advocacy was instrumental in shaping Ghana’s 1989 inheritance law and advancing gender equality provisions in the 1992 constitution.
Born in November 1948 in Cape Coast, she studied art and textiles at university and married Jerry Rawlings in 1977. The couple had four children, including Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, an NDC Member of Parliament.
Ghana’s parliament has adjourned in her honor as the nation prepares to mourn one of its most influential female figures.