Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Office

Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Office
Coat of arms of Ghana
Ministry overview
Formed1951 (1951)
  • Attorney-General’s Department (est. 1877)
JurisdictionGovernment of Ghana
Headquarters
  • Attorney-General & Ministry of Justice Building, Accra, Ghana
Minister responsible
Websitewww.mojagd.gov.gh

The Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Office of Ghana is the government ministry responsible for the legal affairs of the Republic of Ghana. It drafts legislation, advises the executive, oversees state prosecutions, and represents the Government of Ghana in civil cases. The office of the Attorney General, established in 1877, serves as the principal legal adviser to the government. The modern Ministry of Justice was created in 1951 following recommendations of the Lidbury Commission.[1]

History

The Ministry of Justice was created in 1951 after the Lidbury Commission reviewed the administration of the Gold Coast Civil Service and recommended a structure modelled on the British Home Office.[2] The first head of the ministry was P. F. Branigan, an English expatriate.[3]

In 1954, the Ministry of Justice was merged with the Ministry of Interior in the first all-African government. It re-emerged in 1956 as the Ministry of Interior and Justice under Ebenezer Ako-Adjei. Following Ghana’s independence in 1957, the ministry was again split, creating a separate Ministry of Justice and an independent Ministry for the Attorney General, led by Geoffrey Bing.[4]

Between 1958 and 1961, the ministry was merged with Local Government under Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta. It became a standalone ministry again in September 1961 and was reunited with the Attorney-General’s Ministry in 1965, forming the combined portfolio of Minister of Justice and Attorney General under Bashiru Kwaw-Swanzy.[5]

In 2004, Mrs Regina Ayerko Apotsi became the first woman to serve as Judicial Secretary, the 13th person to hold the post.

List of ministers

Number Minister Portfolio Took office Left office Government Party
1Ebenezer Ako-AdjeiMinister for Interior and Justice1956August 1957Nkrumah governmentConvention People's Party
Minister for JusticeAugust 19571958
2Kofi Asante Ofori-AttaMinister for Justice and Local Government1958September 1961
Minister for JusticeSeptember 19611965
3Bashiru Kwaw-SwanzyMinister for Justice and Attorney General1965February 1966
4Victor Owusu1966April 1969National Liberation CouncilMilitary government
5Nicholas Yaw Boafo AdadeApril 1969September 1969
14 September 1969January 1971[6]Busia governmentProgress Party
6Victor OwusuJanuary 197112 January 1972
7Edward Nathaniel Moore13 January 19728 October 1975National Redemption CouncilMilitary government
8Gustav Koranteng-Addow9 October 1975January 1979[7]Supreme Military CouncilMilitary government
9Austin N. E. Amissah1 January 197923 September 1979Armed Forces Revolutionary CouncilMilitary government
10Joe Reindorf24 September 1979August 1981Limann governmentPeople's National Party
11A. L. Djabatey1 October 198131 December 1981
12G. E. K. Aikins25 June 19821988Provisional National Defence CouncilMilitary government
13E. G. Tanoh14 December 19881 April 1993
14Anthony Forson1 March 199330 October 1993Rawlings governmentNational Democratic Congress
—Obed Asamoah (Acting AG)November 1993May 1997
15Obed AsamoahMay 19976 January 2001
16Nana Akufo-Addo1 February 2001[8]24 April 2003Kufuor governmentNew Patriotic Party
17Papa Owusu-Ankomah1 April 2003[9]2005
18J. Ayikoi Otoo1 February 2005[10]2006
19Joe Ghartey16 June 20067 January 2009 [11]
20Betty Mould-Iddrisu [1st female][12]20092011Mills governmentNational Democratic Congress
21Martin Amidu4 January 2011[13]2012
22Benjamin Kunbuor25 January 2012[14]24 October 2012
24 October 20127 January 2013Mahama government
23Marietta Brew Appiah-OppongFebruary 2013[15]7 January 2017
24Gloria AkuffoFebruary 2017[16]January 2021Akuffo Addo governmentNew Patriotic Party
25Godfred Yeboah DameJanuary 20216 January 2025
26Dominic Akuritinga Ayine22 January 2025IncumbentMahama government National Democratic Congress

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About the Ministry | Office of the Attorney-General & Ministry of Justice". Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Decentralised Administration in Africa: Policies and Training Experience. Management Development Programme, Commonwealth Secretariat. 1989.
  3. ↑ Office, Great Britain Colonial (1953). Gold Coast. H.M. Stationery Office.
  4. ↑ Nkrumah, Kwame (1957). Ghana's Policy at Home and Abroad. Information Office, Embassy of Ghana.
  5. ↑ Assembly, Ghana National (1965). Parliamentary Debates; Official Report.
  6. ↑ "Past Ministers". Official website of the government of Ghana. Government of Ghana. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Africa contemporary record; annual survey and documents, Volume 11. Africana Publishing Company. 1980. p. B-624. ISBN 9780841901605.
  8. ↑ "Eleven Ministers Sworn-in". General news. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Government names new Cabinet". General news. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "Twenty-nine Ministers sworn into office". General news. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Kufuor restructures ministerial team". General news. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  12. ↑ "First woman Attorney-General Sworn In".
  13. ↑ "Cabinet reshuffle: Zita dropped, Betty for education". General news. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "Full Text Of Reshuffle By President Mills". General news. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Kunbuor, others approved by Parliament".
  16. ↑ "Gloria Akuffo nominated as Attorney General". Retrieved 1 June 2017.
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