Former First Lady of Ghana, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, has died in Accra at the age of 76.
Family sources say she passed away in the early hours of Thursday, 23 October, at the Ridge Hospital in Accra.
The news was also confirmed by Felix Ofosu Kwakye, Spokesperson to the President of Ghana.
“Government announces with deep regret and profound sorrow the untimely passing of former First Lady and founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement, Her Excellency Mrs Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings.
Mrs Rawlings passed this morning after a short illness.
Government extends its deepest condolences to her immediate family.”
Nana Konadu, wife of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, was a prominent political figure and a leading advocate for women’s empowerment.
Tributes have begun pouring in from across the country as Ghanaians mourn the loss of one of the nation’s most influential women.
She served as Ghana’s First Lady from June 4, 1979, to September 24, 1979, under the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), and again from December 31, 1981, to January 6, 1993, under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
She continued in the role during her husband’s two constitutional terms from January 7, 1993, to January 6, 2001.
She founded the National Democratic Party (NDP) after she left the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and became the first Ghanaian lady to run for the presidency.