Haruna Iddrisu (born 8 September 1970) also popular known in the northern part 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 ...

as Adun Gangdu, is a

ian lawyer, politician, football enthusiast and owner of

Karela United Karela United FC is a Ghanaian professional football club based in Aiyinase, Ellembele District, Western Region. The club competed in the 2019 Ghanaian Normalisation Cup Competition. Karela plays their home matches at the CAM Park. History T ...

and Steadfast Football clubs owner. He is a member of the ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing Tamale South. He served as the Minority Leader for NDC in Ghana's Parliament from January 2017 and was succeeded by Ato Forson. He is a Dagomba by tribe, an indigenous tribe from northern Ghana, belonging to the larger Mole-Dagbon ethnic group. He is currently the Minister of Education of the Republic of Ghan

Early life and education

Haruna Iddrisu was born in 1970 at

Tamale, Ghana Tamale () is the capital city of the Northern Region of Ghana. It is Ghana's third largest city, with a population of 371,351 people (as of 2010). The city has been ranked as the fastest-growing city in West Africa. Tamale is located in the K ...

.He started his early education at Kulikuli school. Iddrisu studied at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

between 1993 and 1997 where he obtained

B.A. (Hons) A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. He was active in student politics and was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students during his final year. Iddrisu is also a barrister and has been a member of the

Ghana Bar Association The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) is a professional association of lawyers in Ghana, including what used to be called solicitors and barristers but they are now called legal practitioners, as well as magistrates.By convention, all lawyers admitted ...

since 2002.

Political career

After being a student leader for years in his tertiary education, Iddrisu transitioned into mainstream national politics and rose to become the National Youth Organizer for the National Democratic Congress in 2002. He held that position for 8 years even whilst serving as Minister of Communications in the Atta Mills Government. Iddrisu stepped down from the position in 2010.

As a Member of Parliament

He stood for MP in the 2004 parliamentary election in the then newly formed Tamale South constituency. Iddrisu served as the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications and also the Minority Spokesman on Communications in the Fourth Parliament when the National Democratic Congress, his party was in opposition. He retained his seat in the 2008 parliamentary election by gaining 78.2% of the total votes cast. He again retained his seat in the 2012 parliamentary elections by getting 74.6% of the total votes cast. Even though his party lost the Presidential Elections, Haruna retained his seat in the 2016 Elections and was selected to lead the minority caucus as the Minority Leader of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic in

. In January 2020, Haruna Iddrisu donated a CHPS compound to the Duunyin community in the Northern region of

to provide healthcare services to the indigents of the community. During the elections that year, Even though, Iddrisu's party, the NDC, failed to recapture power from the NPP, he retained the Tamale South Constituency seat after winning by a landslide. In January 2023, Haruna's reign as Minority Leader came to an end after the minority NDC changed its leadership in parliament, replacing Haruna with Ato Forson. In May 2023, Haruna ran unopposed for the NDC Parliamentary primaries and won. In the history of Ghana's politics, he is the only incumbent MP to run for primaries unopposed for 4 consecutive times. He subsequently won the

2024 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2024 to elect the president and all 276 members of Parliament. The incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo, having completed his constitutional term limits, was ineligible for re-election. Former P ...

sixth time as the member of parliament for Tamale South (Ghana parliament constituency) on the ticket of the

National Democratic Congress (Ghana) The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is a social democratic political party in Ghana, founded by Jerry Rawlings, who was Head of State in Ghana from 1981 to 1993. He became the President of Ghana from 1993 to 2001. Following the formation of th ...

As Minister of State

He has held various positions in government, including Minister for Communications under the Mills and Mahama governments as well as Minister for Trade between 2013 and 2014. He was appointed the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations by President

Mahama Mahama is an African given name and surname. People with this name include: Given name *Mahama Awal, Cameroonian footballer *Mahama Ayariga, Ghanaian politician *Mahama Sawadogo, Burkinabé politician *Mahama Johnson Traoré, Senegalese film direct ...

in July 2014. He was appointed minister for Education in January 2025 in John Mahama's second term as president. And in the same January 2025, the parliament of

led by the deputy speaker confirmed his approval as the Minister for Education. He was sworn in with the other five ministers of state by President Mahama.

Personal life

He is a married Muslim, has 3 children, and hails from the Northern Region of Ghana.

Football

Haruna Iddrisu is a football enthusiast. He plays the game on weekends and holidays in his native town,

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...

. Iddrisu also owns the Ghana Premier League club,

, and Division One side,

Steadfast FC Steadfast Football Club is a Ghanaian professional football club based in Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana that was founded by Ghanaian politician Haruna Iddrisu. As for the season 2020/21, the club competes in Zone One of the Division On ...

, a club that produced Leicester City's winger, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku. The

English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

outfit reportedly paid 17 million Euros to secure Issahaku's services from Sporting CP. Haruna Iddrisu and his Steadfast Football Club earned 7.9 million Euros from the deal.

As a philanthropist

References

External links

Profile on Ghana government website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iddrisu, Haruna Living people 1970 births Communications ministers of Ghana Trade ministers of Ghana Ghanaian MPs 2005–2009 Ghanaian MPs 2009–2013 Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017 Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021 Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025 Ghanaian MPs 2025–2029 University of Ghana alumni National Democratic Congress (Ghana) politicians Dagomba people Ghanaian Muslims People from Tamale, Ghana Government ministers of Ghana Ministers for education of Ghana 21st-century Ghanaian lawyers Politicians from Northern Region (Ghana)