Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, Ghana’s longest-serving First Lady and one of the most influential women in the country’s political history, has died. She passed away on October 23, 2025, at the Ridge Hospital in Accra after a short illness. She was 76.
The wife of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, Nana Konadu served as First Lady across both military and civilian administrations from 1979 to 2001. Beyond her years in public office, she was known for her relentless advocacy for women’s rights and her efforts to increase women’s participation in national development.
Born in Cape Coast in 1948 to J.O.T. Agyeman and his wife, she attended Ghana International School and Achimota School, where she met her husband, the late J J Rawlings.. She later studied art and textiles at the University of Science and Technology and earned further qualifications from the London College of Arts, Ghana’s Management Development and Productivity Institute, and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. She also studied at Johns Hopkins University and the Institute for Policy Studies in the United States.
Her public life began when her late husband took power in 1979 as Head of State. After his return in 1981, she became First Lady again, a role she used to push for social reform and women’s empowerment. In 1982, she founded the 31st December Women’s Movement, which grew into one of Ghana’s largest grassroots organisations with millions of members. The movement established over 870 preschools and championed adult literacy, family planning, and community development.
Through the movement’s advocacy, Ghana became the first country to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. Nana Konadu also helped push through the Intestate Succession Law, ensuring inheritance rights for widows who previously had none under traditional systems.
Her political influence extended beyond activism. She served as First Vice Chairperson of the National Democratic Congress in 2009 and later broke away to form the National Democratic Party in 2012. That same year, she was disqualified from the presidential race by the Electoral Commission for not meeting filing requirements but returned to contest again in 2016, making history as the first woman to run for President of Ghana.
In 2018, she published her first book, It Takes a Woman, a 331-page biography tracing her life from childhood through her political journey. She described it as the first in a four-part series exploring her experiences and advocacy work.
Throughout her life, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings spoke often about her belief in the power of women to transform society. “Women’s vital role in promoting peace in the family, the country, and the world must be acknowledged,” she once said. “To do this, they must be empowered politically to equip them for the challenges of finding solutions for the betterment of society.”
She married Jerry John Rawlings in 1977, and they had four children, including Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, a Member of Parliament. Her husband died in November 2020, shortly before that year’s general election, during which she was again contesting as the NDP’s presidential candidate.
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings leaves behind a legacy that reshaped the political and social role of women in Ghana. Her work continues to influence generations of Ghanaian women striving for equality and leadership.
