Ghana is mourning the passing of former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who died in Accra on Thursday, October 23, 2025, after a short illness. She was 76 years old.
According to family sources, Madam Konadu passed away at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), where she had been receiving treatment. Details surrounding the nature of her illness have not yet been made public.
Born on November 17, 1948, in Cape Coast, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings served as Ghana’s First Lady during the tenure of her late husband, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, who led the country from 1981 to 2001. She also briefly served in 1979 following the June 4 revolution.
Nana Konadu was a trailblazer for women’s empowerment in Ghana. She founded the 31st December Women’s Movement, an organization dedicated to improving the social and economic status of women and children across the country. Her activism extended into politics—she later formed the National Democratic Party (NDP) after breaking away from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Throughout her life, she remained an influential and sometimes controversial figure in Ghanaian politics, admired for her strength, advocacy, and commitment to gender equality.
Her death has sparked an outpouring of tributes from political leaders, women’s groups, and citizens across the nation, many of whom remember her as a pioneering leader and an icon of resilience.
Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced by the family.
