Osagie Emmanuel Ehanire (born 4 November 1945) is a Nigerian

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

and politician who served as the minister of Health from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as the minister of state for Health from November 2015 to May 2019.

Early life

Ehanire was born on 4 November 1946 in Warri Town, Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Education

After his primary education, Ehanire attended Government College Ibadan in

Oyo State Oyo is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo ...

for his

West African School Certificate The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West Af ...

where he excelled at his Higher School Certificate examination. Ehanire went on to study Medicine at

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

in Germany, qualifying as a Surgeon. He went on to the Teaching Hospital of the

University of Duisburg and Essen The University of Duisburg-Essen () is a public research university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In the 2019 ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', the university was awarded 194th place in the world. It was originally ...

and to the BG Accident Hospital in Duisburg, Germany for his post graduate education. In 1976, he attended the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

in Ireland where he obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Anaesthetics. He got his Board Certification in both General Surgery and Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery at the Medical Board of North Rhine Westphalia in Dusseldorf, Germany. In 1984, he became a Fellow of

West African College of Surgeons The West African College of Surgeons is a professional organization that promotes education, training, examinations and research in surgery in Africa. The college is the first organization to organize surgical subspecialty training in the region.B ...

Career

Ehanire worked in Germany as a Resident Anesthesiologist, Resident Vascular Surgeon and Resident General Surgeon in Thoracic Surgery at various hospitals. He also served as Clinical Instructor, Fracture Internal Fixation Course at BG Accident Hospital in Duisburg, Germany. On his return to Nigeria in 1982, he worked at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital as Senior Registrar in the Department of Surgery (Orthopaedic Surgery), a position he held until 1984. Between 1985 and 1990, he joined the Shell Petroleum Development Company Hospital as a Divisional Consultant Surgeon. He also served at various times on the Medical Review Board of Edo State Hospital Management Board and remains as a Trustee of TY Danjuma Foundation.

Politics

Ehanire was appointed as a delegate of

Congress for Progressive Change The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was a political party founded in Nigeria in 2009. In February 2013, the party merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alli ...

(CPC) to the political merger conference that gave birth to the

All Progressive Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, th ...

(APC), the name which he coined. As the Edo State Coordinator for the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), he was a key player in ensuring the victory of President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

at the 2015 presidential election. In October 2015, he made the list of ministerial nominees to serve the Buhari led administration. After being screened and cleared by the National Assembly, he was appointed as the Minister of State for Health in November 2015. Following the beginning of a new administration in May 2019 and the submission of the ministerial nominees to the Senate by the Presidency in July 2019 and subsequent screening, Ehanire was appointed the Minister of Health in August 2019.

Other activities

Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Established in 2005, The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) is the world’s largest alliance for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being, with over 1,400 partner organizations working together thro ...

(PMNCH), Member of the Board

Personal life

He is married to Dr. Eleanor Neal-Ehanire, an Ear Nose and Throat surgeon and they have 7 children.

Award

In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of

Commander of the Order of the Niger Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries, ...

(CON) was conferred on him by President

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehanire, Osagie 1946 births Living people Nigerian anesthesiologists Health ministers of Nigeria Nigerian surgeons People from Warri Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Commanders of the Order of the Niger