The Hesse family () is a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

family of Dano-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

origins. The

progenitor In genealogy, a progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; or ''Ahnherr'') is the founder (sometimes one that is legendary) of a family, line of descent, gens, clan, tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines Geschlec ...

of the family was Dr. Lebrecht Wilhelm Hesse, a German medical doctor and a subject of the Danish Crown under King Christian VII. Hesse was an employee of the Danish colonial administration. After qualifying in medicine and surgery, he sailed to the Gold Coast as a young bachelor in the late 1700s to treat chaplains from the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church ( , or unofficially ; ), sometimes called the Church of Denmark, is the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The supreme secular authority of the church is composed of ...

and its latter affiliate, the

Danish Missionary Society The Danish Missionary Society was a Christian missionary society based in Copenhagen and affiliated to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark. It was founded on 17 June, 1821 by the Rev. Bone Falck Rønne (1764–1833), who chaired the miss ...

, civil servants and garrison soldiers stationed at the Christiansborg Castle, now called the

Osu Castle Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Ghana, on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa. A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s; thereafter, the fort changed owners ...

. He married a local Ga woman, Lamiorkai, from Osu Amantra 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 ...

. During the nineteenth century, the Euro-Ga descendants of Dr. L. W. Hesse were influential in

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

in the Gold Coast colony. Family members later branched into other occupations, becoming bureaucrats and ministers. Additionally, the Hesse family is directly related to the

Clerk family The Clerk family () is a Ghanaian historic family that produced a number of pioneering scholars and clergy on the Gold Coast. Predominantly based in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, the Clerks were traditionally Protestant Christian and affiliated ...

through Dr. Hesse's granddaughter, Pauline Hesse (1831–1909), a trader who was married to Alexander Worthy Clerk (1820–1906), a Jamaican Moravian teacher. Clerk was among 24 individuals from the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

recruited by the

Basel Mission The Basel Mission is a Christianity, Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1843 and sent to Ghana to establish Protestant churches and schools.

Notable members

* Herman Chinery-Hesse (1963–2024), technology entrepreneur and founder of theSOFTribe * L. J. Chinery-Hesse (1930–2018), parliamentary draftsman, Solicitor-General and Acting Attorney General (1979) *

Mary Chinery-Hesse Mary Akuokor Chinery-Hesse, , née Blay (born 29 October 1938) is an international civil servant and diplomat, serving as the first woman Chancellor of the University of Ghana, inducted on 1 August 2018. She was the first female Deputy Director-G ...

(born 1938), international civil servant and diplomat, first woman

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of Ghana, Legon A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

Adukwei Hesse Ian Frederick Adukwei Hesse, is a Ghanaian academic, physician and a Presbyterian minister. He was on the faculty at the Department of Physiology at the University of Ghana Medical School, a consultant physician as well as a co-founder and the ...

, physician-academic,

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

control expert,

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...

advocate and

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session (o ...

Afua Adwo Jectey Hesse Afua Adwo Jectey Hesse is a Ghanaian surgeon and the first Ghanaian-trained female doctor to become a paediatric surgeon. In August 2010, she became the first Ghanaian and second African to be elected President of the Medical Women's Internationa ...

, First Ghanaian woman to train as a paediatric surgeon * Chris Tsui Hesse (born 1932),

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

, prison reform campaigner and Presbyterian minister * L. W. Fifi Hesse (1934–2000), First black African

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, Director-General,

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was established by law in 1968 with a triple mandate as a State Broadcaster, Public Service Broadcaster, and a Commercial Broadcaster in Ghana. Headquartered in the capital city, Accra, GBC is funded by g ...

(GBC), 1972–1974; 1984–1988 and Member,

Public Services Commission of Ghana The Public Services Commission of Ghana is an independent, constitutionally-mandated, human resource planning institution tasked with managing the workforce of the Ghanaian public sector in a holistic manner. History The Public Services Com ...

* Regina Hesse (1832–1898), pioneer woman educator-administrator in colonial Ghana * Virginia Hesse (born 1944), civil servant and commercial officer at the

Ministry of Trade and Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

, Ambassador of Ghana to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

(2017–2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesse family Christian ministry families Ga-Adangbe families Ga-Adangbe families of Danish descent Ga-Adangbe families of German descent Ghanaian families * Medical families Presbyterian families Priestly families

Notable members

See also

References