Daniel Augustus Lartey (1 August 1926 – 28 December 2009) popularly known as Dan Lartey was a Ghanaian politician in the 2000, and 2004 presidential candidate of the

Great Consolidated Popular Party The Great Consolidated Popular Party is a political party in Ghana. At the last elections, 7 December 2004, the party was part of the Grand Coalition, that won 4 out of 230 seats. Edward Mahama, candidate of the Grand Coalition won 1.9% of the v ...

(GCPP). He was a former publisher and labour unionist, he became a household name in Ghana following his famous 2004 presidential elections campaign mantra; 'domestication', and also his political philosophy of growing Ghana from Ghana, rather than depending on foreign aid and investments.

Early life and education

He was born on 1 August 1926 at

Winneba Winneba is a town and the capital of Effutu Municipal District in Central Region of South Ghana. Winneba has a population of . Winneba, traditionally known as ''Simpa'', is a historic fishing port in south Ghana, lying on the south coast, ...

in the Central Region. He obtained a diploma at the London Chamber of Commerce in 1940 and Sloan's Shorthand Certificate of Proficiency in 1942. He also obtained a diploma in commerce and industry from

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

in 1956.

Career

Lartey worked with the then

United Africa Company The United Africa Company (UAC) was a British company which principally traded in West Africa during the 20th century. The United Africa Company was formed in 1929 as a result of the merger of Royal Niger Company, The Niger Company, which had b ...

(UAC) from 1944 to 1958. There, he rose to the status of Senior Management and was posted to the Headquarters at Unilever House, London. In Ghana, he established a number of businesses, they include the Lartey and Lartey Books and Stationery, which later became the nucleus of the Ghana Book Supply, Citadel Printing Press and the Federal Stores of Nigeria.

Politics

His political career started in 1969 when he contested the Gomoa East Constituency seat on the ticket of the

National Alliance of Liberals The National Alliance of Liberals (NAL) was a political party in Ghana during the Second Republic (1969–1972). The party was formed after the ban on party politics was lifted in May 1969 and was dissolved along with all other political par ...

(NAL). He was appointed a special adviser to

Ignatius Kutu Acheampong Ignatius Kutu Acheampong ( ; 23 September 1931 – 16 June 1979) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who was the military head of state of Ghana from 13 January 1972 to 5 July 1978, when he was deposed in a palace coup. He was execute ...

National Redemption Council The National Redemption Council (NRC) was the ruling Ghana military government from 13 January 1972 to 9 October 1975. Its chairman was Colonel I. K. Acheampong, who was thus also the head of state of Ghana. Duration of rule The NRC came into ...

government in 1972. In 1978 he represented the Gomoa Ewutu-Effutu in the constituent assembly in the writing of the constitution of the Third Republic. In 1979 Lartey was a founding member of the People's National Party (PNP). In 1992 he was an aspiring presidential candidate of the National Independence Party (NIP), he lost to

Kwabena Darko Kwabena Darko (born 23 October 1942) is an entrepreneur, minister of religion and former politician. He owns the largest privately owned agro-industrial concern in Ghana and is listed in “Who’s Who in World Poultry”. Darko is also known by m ...

. He broke away from the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGC ...

(CPP) to form the

(GCPP). He run for president twice on the ticket of the GCPP on two occasions; in the 2000 presidential elections and the 2004 presidential elections. He was disqualified by the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

from running in the 2008 presidential race because he failed to submit his nomination papers on time; he was able to meet the 17 October 2008 deadline and paid the GH¢5,000 nomination fee, but had errors and inconsistencies in his documents.Jessey Kuntu Blankso
"Remembering Daniel Augustus Lartey"
Modern Ghana, 29 December 2017.myjoyonlin

Modern Ghana, 29 December 2009.

Personal life

He was married to Sarah Rosetta Lartey (née Malm). His son Henry Herbert Lartey took over as the leader of the GCPP after his death.Maya Angelo,, Ghanalive, 29 June 2015.

Death

After a short stint in the United States of America where he had received medical treatment, he returned to Ghana on 29 November 2009 but died on 28 December 2009 at the Trust Hospital in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) 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, , had a population of ...

after a short illness.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lartey, Daniel 1926 births 2009 deaths 21st-century Ghanaian politicians Alumni of the London School of Economics Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom