Theresa Kufuor (née Mensah; born 25 October 1935) is the wife of

John Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been spe ...

, the second President of the Fourth Republic of

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 Tog ...

, and former

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

. She is a retired nurse and midwife.

Education

Kufuor started her education at the Catholic Convent, OLA, at

Keta Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District. Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they ...

in the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...

of Ghana. She later went to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where she was educated as a

Registered General Nurse Nursing in the United Kingdom has a long history. The current form of nursing is often considered as beginning with Florence Nightingale who pioneered modern nursing. Nightingale initiated formal schools of nursing in the United Kingdom in the l ...

, in the Southern Hospital Group of Nursing.

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. After further study at the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Paddington General Hospital Paddington General Hospital was a health facility in Harrow Road, Paddington, London. History The hospital was established as an infirmary for the Paddington Union Workhouse and opened as the Paddington Infirmary in 1886. A nurses' home was com ...

, London, she qualified as a State Certified Midwife with a Certificate in Premature Nursing.

Personal life

Theresa married

when he was at age 23 after they met at a Republic Day Anniversary Dance in London in 1961. They got married in 1962. She has five children with John Kufuor, former president of Ghana; J. Addo Kufuor, Nana Ama Gyamfi, Saah Kufuor, Agyekum Kufuor and Owusu Afriyie Kufuor. She is a mother of five, and a grandmother of eight. She is a devout

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 ...

. Despite being the first lady of Ghana for eight years between 2001 and 2009, she has managed to maintain a low profile in the political arena. In 2007 she pushed for policy changes in the ''Government's white paper on Educational Reforms'' towards the implementation of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

's ''Free compulsory universal basic education'' (FCUBE) program for kindergarten children. She founded the ''Mother and Child Community Development Foundation'' (MCCDF), a non-governmental organisation operating in Ghana and Canada that supports work in prevention of mother to child transmission.

Honours

On October 25

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

conferred on her husband President

, the Papal Award of Knight Commander of St. Gregory the Great, for his dedicated service to mankind and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in general. Theresa Kufuor, on her part was awarded the Papal Award Dame of

St Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

for her commitment to the plight of poor children and their mothers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kufuor, Theresa Living people 1937 births First Ladies of Ghana Ghanaian Roman Catholics People from Brong-Ahafo Region New Patriotic Party politicians

Education

Personal life

Honours

See also

References