Former first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has died at the Ridge Hospital in Accra, sources close to her family have confirmed. She was 76.
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, wife of former President Jerry John Rawlings, held the role of First Lady over multiple administrations, making her Ghana’s longest-serving First Lady. She first assumed the position during the short-lived military rule of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council from 4 June to 24 September 1979. She later resumed the role under the Provisional National Defence Council from 31 December 1981 until 6 January 1993, and continued as First Lady during her husband’s constitutional presidency from 7 January 1993 to 6 January 2001.
She became a significant figure in women’s empowerment and political activism. She founded the 31st December Women’s Movement which, under her leadership, supported and championed women’s economic and social advancement in Ghana. In 2012 she broke away from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to launch the National Democratic Party (NDP). She became the first woman to contest Ghana’s presidency when she ran for the 2016 election on the NDP ticket.
In November 2018 she published her autobiography, It Takes a Woman, recounting her personal journey from her early years through to national political life. She had announced plans for a four-volume series, but this first volume remains the only published instalment.