Kufuor recounts journey from young lawyer to Ghana’s presidency

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has recounted how his early experiences in law, banking, local government and diplomacy helped shape his entry into national politics, becoming a Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs at the age of 30. Mr Kufuor, who was speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, October 28, said his professional journey had taken him from legal studies in Britain to the financial sector in London, before returning to Ghana to practise law and take up public service.

He said the different roles exposed him to administration, community development and international relations long before he became President of Ghana. “I became a lawyer at the age of 22,” he recalled, explaining that he did not immediately enter legal practice after qualifying in Britain. Instead, he continued his education at the University of Oxford, where he studied philosophy, politics and economics, a programme he said was quite different from law.

His next opportunity came in banking, where he secured employment in the City of London, then a major international financial centre. Mr Kufuor said the experience marked his first formal employment before he returned to Ghana in 1965 to begin practising law. From law to city management Back home, he joined the chambers of the late Victor Owusu, whom he described as a leading legal practitioner.

Working as a junior lawyer at the firm gave him further experience in the legal profession before he moved into public administration. At 27, Mr Kufuor was appointed city manager of Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, a position he held for three years. He said the job gave him practical experience in managing a major urban centre and coordinating the work of several municipal departments.

The responsibilities included overseeing the work of the city’s education department, medical officer of health, treasury and conservancy services. The experience, he said, deepened his understanding of administration and the political management of a community. His time in Kumasi became an important stage in his transition from professional practice into politics, exposing him to the demands of public service and the coordination of institutions responsible for essential municipal services.

Entering Parliament and diplomacy Mr Kufuor said his move into national politics came at the age of 30, when he became an MP during Ghana’s Second Republic. That same year, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs under the government of Professor Kofi Abrefa Busia. The appointment, he said, opened up opportunities to engage with international organisations and gave him exposure to Ghana’s relations with other countries.

His diplomatic responsibilities took him to meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, the Organisation of African Unity and the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as bilateral engagements between Ghana and other nations. He said those assignments broadened his international outlook and gave him experience in multilateral diplomacy at an early stage of his political career.

Reflecting on the different stages of his professional life, Mr Kufuor highlighted the value of experiences gained across different fields before rising to the highest office in the country. His account traced a career that moved through legal practice, financial services, municipal administration, Parliament and diplomacy, providing him with varied exposure to the institutions and responsibilities of public leadership.