Emmanuel Kwesi Gyekye Tanoh (born 30 August 1925) was a Ghanaian educationist, lawyer and politician. He was an Attorney General of Ghana, Minister for Health and Minister for Chieftaincy.

Early life and education

Tanoh was born on 30 August 1925 at Agona Nsaba in the Central Region of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. He had his early education at the Presbyterian Primary School at Agona Nsaba from 1931 to 1933 and at the Presbyterian Primary School at Agona Nyakrom from 1934 to 1936. From there, he proceeded to the Methodist Senior School at Agona Nyakrom in 1936. Tanoh had his secondary education at

Mfantsipim School Mfantsipim School is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High Scho ...

, where he studied from 1939 to 1944. In 1945, he enrolled at

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school ...

for a two-year programme. In 1948, he was admitted to the

University of St. Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

for his undergraduate studies, graduating in 1951. He then continued at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

for his postgraduate teacher's certificate, which he was awarded in 1953. He began his legal studies in 1955 and was called to the

English Bar Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

in 1958.

Career

Following his postgraduate studies at the

, he returned to

in 1953 to join the teaching staff of

and later the Takoradi Government Secondary School, while doubling as an education officer for the Ministry of Education from 1953 to 1955. After his legal studies, Tanoh worked as a lawyer from 1955 until his appointment as the Central Regional Minister in 1983. He served in that capacity until 1984 when he was appointed

Secretary of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate Minister of Mental Health, ...

. In 1986, he was appointed Secretary for Chieftaincy, and he served in that capacity until 1988, when he was appointed Attorney General and Minister for Justice. He worked in this capacity until 1993, when he was succeeded by Anthony Forson.

Personal life

Tanoh was married to Alvira Ewurabena Amoonua Tanoh. Together, they had four children, including politician Goozie Tanoh. His hobbies included reading.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanoh, Emmanuel Gyekye 1925 births Possibly living people 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers Akan people Alumni of Achimota School Attorneys general of Ghana Justice ministers of Ghana Mfantsipim School alumni Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of St Andrews