# Ivan Addae Mensah

Ivan Addae-Mensah, FGA, CV (born 10 January 1942) is a Ghanaian chemist and university administrator who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon from 1996 to 2002. He is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the same institution. He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the Ghana Chemical Society.

## Early life and education

Addae-Mensah is a member of the Nzema ethnic group. He was educated at Achimota School and studied Chemistry at the University of Ghana, Legon, receiving his bachelor's degree with first class honours. He also obtained a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in chemistry from the same university. Between 1967 and 1970, he pursued his PhD at Churchill College, Cambridge.

## Career

In October 1970, he was appointed a lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Ghana, Legon and rose through the ranks to become a full Professor. A Chartered Chemist (C. Chem.), his area of specialty is medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. He also worked at the Drug Research Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ife in Nigeria and the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Nairobi, Kenya. He was an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellow at the Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany from 1982 to 1984. Ivan Addae-Mensah is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is also a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and was also the organisation's vice president for the Sciences for four years. He is a Fellow of the Ghana Chemical Society. In 1993, he was appointed the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Ghana. Between 1996 and 2002, he served as the Vice-Chancellor of the same institution. After his retirement as a university administrator, he returned to the classroom and laboratory to continue teaching and research.
He has served as a knowledge consultant to several domestic and international institutions including the World Health Organization (Headquarters, TDR and Afro Region), UNESCO, UNFPA, the European Union (EU), the Ghana Statistical Service and several other national and international organisations. Since 1988, he has been a member of the WHO Expert Committee on the International Pharmacopoeia and Pharmaceutical Preparations and Drug Quality Assurance of Medicines chairing meetings of the Committee numerous times.
He was a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of the WHO/TDR/EU- funded malaria drug development initiative, and the TDR-ANDI Drug and Diagnostics Development Initiative. He is a member of the WHO-AFRO African Advisory Committee on Health Research and Development (AACHRD), and was involved in various meetings of AACHRD and WHO-AFRO to study, review and make recommendations on the WHO-CEWG report on Health research and development (R&D), Financing and Coordination.
Addae-Mensah served as the General Secretary of the Peoples National Party, PNC and Presidential Advisor to Hilla Limann. From 1980 to 1982, he was the Chairman of the Volta River Authority. He was appointed the Chairman of the National Petroleum Authority, Member of the National Council for Tertiary Education and the Council of the University of Mines and Technology at Tarkwa. Since 2001, Addae-Mensah has been a Member of the Board of the United Nations University Institute of Natural Resources in Africa.
He has been a champion of gender equity in educational opportunities as well as social mobility for the underprivileged.

## Honours, awards and legacy

Ivan Addae-Mensah has received several honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Ghana (Doctor of Science–honoris causa, 2003), New York University (Doctor of Humane Letters, 2002) and Soka University, Japan (Highest Honour, 1998). Under the leadership of John Kufuor, Addae-Mensah was awarded the State Honour of Companion of the Order of the Volta (COV) by the Government of Ghana in 2006 for his contributions to education and public service.
In 2016, the University of Ghana, Legon honoured him by naming a road intersection on its campus after him in recognition to his academic contributions and service to the institution.

## Personal life

He is married with 4 children. He is the father of Kojo Addae-Mensah, the current Group CEO of Databank.

## Books

* Family Background and Educational Opportunities in Ghana (Ghana Universities Press, 1973)
* Limann and Ghana (PNP, 1981)
* Towards a Rational Scientific Basis for Herbal Medicine: A Phytochemist's Two-decade Contribution (University of Ghana, Legon, 1992)
* Education in Ghana: A Tool for Social Mobility Or Social Stratification?(Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2000)
* Hilla Limann: Scholar, Diplomat, Statesman – A Biography (Africa Biographies Consult, 2016)
* My Life: A Historical Narrative – Autobiography of Ivan Addae-Mensah (Digibooks Ghana Limited, 2023)