Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Susanna Al-Hassan
1927 – 1997
The first woman in Africa to hold a cabinet portfolio
Landmark is level 2 of 5 in the Ghana Hall of Fame: a first, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Appointed a minister in 1961, she was the first African woman anywhere to hold a cabinet post.
Born in November 1927, Susanna Al-Hassan was a Ghanaian author and politician who in 1961 became Ghana's first woman minister — and the first African woman to hold a cabinet portfolio.
She was Member of Parliament for the Northern Region from 1960 to 1966, and Deputy Minister of Education in Nkrumah's republican government from 1961 to 1963.
She was Member of Parliament for the Northern Region from 1960 to 1966, and Deputy Minister of Education in Nkrumah's republican government from 1961 to 1963.
- Wikipedia — Susanna Al-Hassan
- GhanaWeb — Meet Susanna Al-Hassan, Africa's first female cabinet minister
- Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation — Ghana's first woman minister passes away
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