Joyce Rosalind Aryee (born 27 March 1946) is a
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 ...
ian former
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
, business executive and minister. Aryee is recognized for having served
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 ...
for more than 40 years in both the public and private sectors. From 2001 to 2011, she served as the chief executive officer of the
Ghana Chamber of Mines and was the first woman in Africa to have held that role. She has also held political roles in Ghana from the early years of the
Provisional National Defence Council
The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup ...
(PNDC) government. She is currently the executive director of Salt and Light Ministries, a para-church organization. She is an Honorary Council Member of the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors.
Early life and education
Born to a
Fante mother and a
Ga father, Joyce Aryee is the second of four children.
During her early years, she lived with her family in North Suntreso,
Kumasi
Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...
, where she started her early years of education at Methodist Primary School and Methodist Middle School. She later went to
Achimota School
Achimota School (Help:IPA/English, /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 Reg ...
and graduated in 1969 from 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 ...
,
Legon
Legon , a suburb of the Ghanaian city Accra, is situated about north-east of the city center in the Ayawaso West Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Legon is home to the main campus of the University of Ghana. ...
, with a
Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English.
Career
Early career
During her studies 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 ...
, Aryee took a holiday job at the
West Africa Examination Council in the Test Development and Research Office (TDRO). She also worked at the
Ghana Museums and Monument Board with the administration. From 1976 to 1981, she worked as a Public Relations Officer at the then newly established Environmental Protection Council. Later, she moved to the Ghana Standards Board (currently
Ghana Standards Authority) as Public Relations Officer.
Political career
From 1982 to 1985, Aryee was appointed by the late ex-president 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 ...
Jerry John Rawlings
Jerry John Rawlings (born Jerry Rawlings John; 22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician who led the country briefly in 1979 and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1993 and then se ...
as the secretary of information for the
PNDC
The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup ...
. From 1985 to 1987, she was Minister of Education, and in 1987–88 Minister of Local Government. From 1988 to 2001 she was Minister of Democracy in the Office of the Prime Minister, and from 1993 to 2001 a Member of the National Defence Council.
Aryee served in an advisory role in the campaign of the incumbent
Vice President of Ghana
The vice president of Ghana is the second-highest officer in the Government of Ghana. The vice president, together with the President of Ghana, is directly elected by the people through popular vote to serve a four-year term in office. The vice- ...
,
Mumuni Bawumia
Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia was a Ghanaian politician, lawyer and the paramount chief of Kperiga in the then Northern region of Ghana. He was chairman of the council of state in the 4th republic from 1993 to 2000.
Career
Bawumia was a member of the ...
of the
New Patriotic Party
The New Patriotic Party (NPP; ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative political party in Ghana. Since the democratisation of Ghana in 1992, it has been one of the two dominant parties in Ghanaian ...
, as candidate for president of Ghana prior to the
2004 Ghanaian general election
General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2004. The presidential elections resulted in a victory for incumbent John Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who defeated John Atta-Mills of the National Democratic Congress with 52 perc ...
.
Salt & Light Ministries
Aryee is the founder and currently executive director of Salt & Light Ministries, a para-church organization. She also runs the Joyce Aryee Consult, which focuses on the areas of Management and Communications. She serves as a board member on several boards, such as the Kinross Chirano Gold Mine Ghana board, the Mentoring Women Ghana board, and the Roman Ridge School Academic Board.
Harmonious Chorale
Aryee serves as the chair of
Harmonious Chorale, a music group in Ghana. She is the founder of the Salt and Light Ministries, a ministry set to encourage and motivate the Body of Christ.
Accra Mining Network
Aryee is also the First Patron Extraordinaire of AMN, Accra Mining Network, the largest amorphous extractive industry professional organisation in the world.
Mining
Aryee was the chief executive officer of the
Ghana Chamber of Mines between 2001 and 2011 when she retired.
Other
In 2021, she was appointed to the board of directors of Pelangio, a company involved in gold exploration in West Africa and Canada. She was also the chairperson of the Board of the Moremi Initiative for Women's Leadership in Africa, a "Women’s Initiative for Empowerment and Leadership Development", a Ghana-based leadership development programme.
Personal life
Joyce Aryee has been married twice; first to a medical doctor with whom she lived in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and then later to Dr
Charles Wereko-Brobby
Charles Wereko-Brobby popularly known as Tarzan (born 27 March 1953) is a Ghanaian engineer, politician, diplomat and businessman in Ghana. He was once the chief executive officer of Ghana's Volta River Authority, then the country's major power ge ...
.
Awards and honours
Aryee was given the second highest State award, the Companion of the
Order of the Volta
The Order of the Volta is an order of merit from the Republic of Ghana. It was instituted in 1960 and is awarded to people for their outstanding service to the country. , in 2006 in recognition of her service to the nation. She was the recipient of the
Chartered Institute of Marketing
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) was founded in 1911. It has over 30,000 members, including more than 3,000 registered Chartered Marketers. CIM offers 130 study centres in 36 countries, and exam centres in 132 countries.
In 1952 Prince ...
, Ghana (CIMG), Marketing Woman of the Year Award for 2007 and the African Leadership on Centre for Economic Development's African Female Business Leader of the Year Award for 2009.
She was also awarded in 2012 the Honorary Award of the year 2012, as well as one of the pioneers and pillars of gospel music, at the Adom FM Ghana Gospel Industry Awards (GGIA) (2nd Edition).
In 2011, Aryee was also honoured in mining and public service at the maiden edition of the Women in Excellence award and was nominated as the "2011 Woman of the Year" by the
American Biographical Institute
The American Biographical Institute (ABI) was a paid-inclusion vanity award publisher based in Raleigh, North Carolina which had been publishing biographical reference directories since 1967. It generated revenue from sales of valueless certificat ...
(ABI). She was the first female to receive the Inspirational Woman Award at the Ghana
UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards 2015 for creating change which paved the way for women. In addition, she won an award as the Public Relations Personality of the Year 2014 by the Institute of Public Relations Ghana and was mentioned in the list of 100 Global Inspiration Women in Mining in the world.
Aryee is an Honorary Fellow of the
Ghana Institution of Engineers and received an Honorary Doctorate from the
University of Mines and Technology
The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) is a public university located at Tarkwa in the Western Region of Ghana.
History
UMaT was first established as the Tarkwa Technical Institute in 1952. In 1961, the university was changed to the ...
in recognition of her immense contributions to the growth of the mining industry.
Achimota School
Achimota School (Help:IPA/English, /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 Reg ...
named their 17th dormitory as "Rev Joyce R. Aryee House" after her, in honour of her selfless service to the nation and commitment as well as contribution to her alma mater.
Publications
Aryee is co-author, with Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, of the 2012 book ''The Transformed Mind''.
''The Transformed Mind''
(Eagle Online Books, 2012). Amazon.
References
External links
Mentoring Women Ghana Board
Salt and Light Ministries website
"Footprints on Citi TV with Dr. Joyce Aryee"
via YouTube.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aryee, Joyce
Living people
1947 births
20th-century Ghanaian businesspeople
20th-century Ghanaian politicians
20th-century Ghanaian women politicians
21st-century Ghanaian politicians
21st-century Ghanaian women politicians
Alumni of Achimota School
Ministers for education of Ghana
Fante people
Ga-Adangbe people
Ghanaian religious leaders
Ministers for information of Ghana
Local government ministers of Ghana
Recipients of the Order of the Volta
University of Ghana alumni
Women government ministers of Ghana