The Progress Party (PP) was the ruling party in

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 ...

during the Second Republic (1969–1972). In the 29 August 1969 elections, the PP won 105 of the National Assembly's 140 seats. The party was co-founded in 1969 by Kofi Abrefa Busia, who was born as a

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

prince in the traditional kingdom of Wenchi, and by Lawyer Sylvester Kofi Williams, who was born as an Ahanta prince, and a descendant of the Ahanta King

Badu Bonsu II Badu Bonsu II was a leader of the Ahanta who originally migrated south and separated from the Fante people upon reaching the Pra River and a Ghanaian king who was executed in 1838 by the Dutch, who, at the time, were in control of the Dutch Gold ...

Kofi Abrefa Busia Kofi Abrefa Busia (11 July 1913 – 28 August 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to the country follow ...

led the Party, and became the 2nd

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

on 3 September 1969. Sylvester Kofi Williams, served as the ruling Party's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, in Ghana's 2nd republic, quasi civilian government. The PP declared support for apartheid South Africa's white minority government. On 13 January 1972, the Progress Party government led by Busia was overthrown through a bloodless military coup led by Colonel Acheampong. The party together with all other political parties were banned. After the 1972 military junta banned the Progress Party in Ghana, both Busia and Williams lost their citizenship in Ghana and remained in exile in England. Busia returned to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, where he died from a heart attack in August 1978. Sylvester Kofi Williams remained in exile in England for only a year before he was sent on mission by the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of ...

to serve as the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman of the Republic of Zambia, from 1973 - 1984. During his mission in Zambia, Williams participated in the 1979 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Lusaka, that laid the foundation for the dismantling of the Ian Smith regime in Southern Rhodesia, which resulted in the signing of the

Lancaster House Agreement The Lancaster House Agreement is an agreement signed on 21 December 1979 in Lancaster House, following the conclusion of a constitutional conference where different parties discussed the future of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, formerly known as Rhodesia ...

at Lancaster House in the United Kingdom. In recognition of his contribution to the 1979 CHOGM conference and the coming of Independence to the new Southern African nation of Zimbabwe, he was contracted by the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

to co-write the post Independence Constitution of Zimbabwe and served as the Senior Legal Advisor to the Zimbabwean Government led by President

Canaan Banana Canaan Sodindo Banana (5 March 193610 November 2003) was a Zimbabwean Methodist minister, theologian, and politician who served as the first President of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987. He was Zimbabwe's first head of state, a ceremonial president ...

and

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

from 1984 until 1991. The PP's rule was characterised by rising inflation, a mass depreciation of the Ghana cedi, the mass deportation of Africans from other African countries living in Ghana and an endorsement of the apartheid government of South Africa. After his contract with the UNDP came to an end on 31 December 1991, Sylvester Kofi Williams was tragically assassinated by multiple gun shots in Lusaka, when he traveled from Harare to Zambia to enact part of his final separation duties with the UNDP on 5 September 1992.

References

Defunct political parties in Ghana Political parties established in 1969 1969 in Ghana Political parties disestablished in 1972 {{Ghana-party-stub

See also

References