The Vice President of Ghana, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, is celebrating her 74th birthday today, November 22.
Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang made history on January 7, 2025, when she became Ghana’s first female Vice President.
Her rise to this high office followed decades of service in education and a reputation in governance.
She was born on November 22, 1951, in Cape Coast.
She earned her BA (Hons) in French and English and a Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Coast, followed by a Diploma in Advanced Studies in French from the University of Dakar in Senegal.
She later obtained an MA and PhD in Literature from York University in Canada.
She served as Head of the Department of English, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dean of the Board of Graduate Studies, and Founding Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Cape Coast.
She then became the Vice Chancellor of the University in 2008, making her the first woman to serve as Vice Chancellor of a public university in Ghana, and she remained in the position 2012.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang later served as Ghana’s Minister for Education from 2013 to 2017.
She then became Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe, serving from 2018 to 2024.
Over the years, she has contributed to several national and international bodies, including the Executive Board of UNESCO, the Centre for Democratic Governance (CDD-Ghana), the Global Advisory Council of World Learning Inc., and the Editorial Board of the Harriet Tubman Series on the African Diaspora at York University.
She is a Life Fellow of the Commonwealth of Learning and a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Her achievements have earned her numerous awards and honorary doctorates, including the Officer of the Order of the Volta, the Ghana Women of Excellence Award, and honours from the University of Cape Coast, Grand Valley State University, Winston Salem State University, the University of the West Indies, and institutions in the United States.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang is a mother of three and a grandmother of two.
Many people and institutions have taken to social media today to send birthday wishes and celebrate the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana.
