Ghana’s former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, has died at the age of 76 after a short illness, presidential spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu confirmed on Thursday morning.
Agyeman-Rawlings was the widow of Jerry John Rawlings, Ghana’s longest-serving leader, who seized power in two coups before steering the country back to multiparty democracy and serving two elected presidential terms. The couple married in 1977 and had four children, including Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament.
Tributes poured in across social media for the politician and women’s rights champion, whose activism reshaped Ghana’s gender policy landscape. As First Lady, she founded the 31st December Women’s Movement, a nationwide network focused on women’s economic empowerment, community health and education. Her advocacy informed the landmark 1989 intestate succession law and helped embed gender-equality provisions in the 1992 Constitution.
Later on Thursday, members of the Agyeman-Rawlings family visited former President John Mahama to formally notify him of her passing. Mahama, who now leads the NDC founded by her late husband, praised her lifelong service to Ghana and to the party. Ghana’s Parliament adjourned in her honour as the nation prepares for official mourning rites.
Born in November 1948 in Cape Coast, Agyeman-Rawlings studied art and textiles at university before emerging as one of the country’s most recognisable public figures in the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond advocacy, she remained an influential voice in national politics long after her tenure as First Lady, often urging greater inclusion of women in leadership and policy making.
Details of funeral arrangements are expected to be announced by the family in consultation with the state.
