Albert Kwadwo Adu Boahen (24 May 1932 – 24 May 2006) was a

Ghanaian 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 To ...

academic,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, and politician. He was an academic at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

from 1959 to 1990, from 1971 onwards as a professor. As a politician, he notably was a candidate in the 1992 Ghanaian presidential election, representing the main opposition

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

Career

Academia

Boahen was born in Oseim to

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

parents, and had his ancestral roots in

Juaben Juaben is a small town in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal District, a Districts of Ghana, district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.Mfantsipim School before enrolling in history studies at the University College of the Gold Coast in

Legon Legon , a suburb of the Ghanaian city Accra, is situated about north-east of the city center in the Accra Metropolis District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Legon is home to the main campus of the University of Ghana. ...

. He graduated in 1956. In 1959 he received a Ph.D. in African history from the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ...

in London, as the first Ghanaian. He was employed at the

in 1959, and was a professor from 1971 to his retirement in 1990. He chaired the Department of History there from 1967 to 1975, as the first African to do so, and was a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

from 1973 to 1975. He also served on the editorial board of ''

The Journal of African History ''The Journal of African History'' (JAH) is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal. It was established in 1960 and is published by Cambridge University Press. It was among the first specialist journals to be devoted to African history and ar ...

'' published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

, and was a

visiting scholar In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at such institutions as the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in 1969,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1970 and the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...

in 1990 and 1991. Between 1993 and 1999, he also worked in the

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 ...

committee that published the eight-volume work ''

General History of Africa The General History of Africa (GHA) is a two-phase project launched by UNESCO in 1964. The 1964 General Conference of UNESCO, during its 13th Session, instructed the Organization to undertake this initiative after the newly independent African Membe ...

''.

Politics

Boahen's academic work crossed over into politics. In February 1988 he publicly lectured on the history of Ghana from 1972 to 1987. Because of this, he is credited with breaking the so-called "culture of silence" which marked the regime of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Jerry Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...

, who had served continuously since 1981. The lectures, originally held in the British Council Hall in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, were published in 1998 as ''The Ghanaian Sphinx: The Contemporary History of Ghana 1972–1987''. In 1990 he co-founded the Movement for Freedom and Justice, and served as its first chairman. The ban on political parties in Ghana was lifted in 1992. In the subsequent 1992 presidential election, Boahen was the

(NPP) nominee, with

Roland Issifu Alhassan Alhaji Roland Issifu Alhassan (September 15, 1935 – April 14, 2014) was a Ghanaian politician, lawyer and diplomat. Alhassan was a founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), specifically in the country's Northern Region. Career Alh ...

as his running mate for vice president. Boahen lost to Jerry Rawlings, but received 30.4% of the vote. Due to dissatisfaction with alleged ballot rigging in that election, Boahen boycotted the 1992 parliamentary election. In the 1996 presidential election,

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 ...

stood instead as the candidate for the NPP and fared somewhat better than Boahen, receiving 39.6% of the vote. In 1998, Boahen tried to return as the New Patriotic Party's presidential nominee, but Kufour was chosen instead. Ultimately, Kufour won the 2000 presidential election and became president. Boahen spoke out against

Marxist history Marxist historiography, or historical materialist historiography, is an influential school of historiography. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography include the centrality of social class, social relations of production in class-divided soc ...

early in his career. Politically, he described himself as "a

liberal democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

, a believer in the freedom of the individual, the welfare of the governed, and in

private enterprise A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

and the

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...

Legacy and death

Boahen was a member of the

Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) is a learned society for the arts and sciences based in Accra, Ghana. The institution was founded in November 1959 by Kwame Nkrumah with the aim to promote the pursuit, advancement and dissemination ...

, and in 2003 a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...

entitled ''Ghana in Africa and the World'' was published, edited by

Toyin Falola Toyin Omoyeni Falola (born January 1, 1953) is a Nigerian historian and professor of African Studies. Falola is a Fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria and of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, and has served as the president of the Afric ...

awarded him the Avicenna Silver Medal. Boahen died on 24 May 2006, his 74th birthday. He was survived by his wife Mary Adu Boahen and his five children. Jerry Rawlings was among the mourners who paid a visit to his family. He was honoured with a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

, and in June 2006 was posthumously awarded the

Order of the Star of Ghana The Order of the Star of Ghana is the highest award given by the Government of Ghana to any individual who had helped the cause of the country in one way or the other. Recipients of this award are decorated at a state function, chaired by the Pr ...

. John Kufour inaugurated a National Honours Day on 30 June, and several others were awarded the Order. His roots can be traced down to Osiem, a village in the Eastern Region of Ghana where his place of residence has been given the area council building. His son Charles Adu Boahen was appointed deputy minister of finance in Ghana in 2017 by President

Nana Addo 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 ...

Partial bibliography

* ''Britain, the Sahara and the Western Sudan 1788-1861.'' London/Oxford, 1964 (dissertation). * ''Topics in West African History.'' Harlow/London, 1966. * ''Ghana: Evolution and Change in the 19th and 20th Centuries.'' London, 1975. * ''The Revolutionary Years: West Africa Since 1800''. Accra/London, 1975. * "Politics in Ghana, 1800–1874", in, J. F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder ''History of West Africa.'' London, 1977 (3rd edition), Vol. 2, pp. 167–260. * ''African Perspectives on Colonialism.'' Baltimore, 1987. * ''The Ghanaian Sphinx: Reflections on the Contemporary History of Ghana, 1972–1987''. Accra, 1989. * ''Mfantsipim and the making of Ghana: A Centenary History, 1876–1976.'' Accra, 1996. * ''Yaa Asantewaa and the Asante – British War of 1900–1.'' Accra, 2003. * ''Africa in the Twentieth Century: The Adu Boahen Reader.'' Trenton, NJ, 2005. * With J. B. Webster and H. O. Idowu: ''The Revolutionary Years: West Africa since 1800''. London, 1980.

References

External links

* Klubi, Togbi Sedem
"Tribute to the late Professor Albert Adu Boahen"
on ''GhanaWeb'', 8 July 2006. * Fordwor, Kwame Donko
"Tribute To Prof. Albert Kwadwo Adu Boahen"
''GhanaWeb'', 6 June 2006.
"Adu Boahen Funeral, Ghana conference and funeral in honor of Adu Boahen - July 20-23, 2006"
Photos on flickr.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Adu Boahen, Albert 20th-century Ghanaian historians Mfantsipim School alumni University of Ghana alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London Academic staff of the University of Ghana 1932 births 2006 deaths New Patriotic Party politicians Candidates for President of Ghana Ghanaian Presbyterians Ghanaian Protestants Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom Ghanaian expatriates in the United States Fellows of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences