Samia Nkrumah

Honourable Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah (born 23 June 1960) is a politician from Ghana and former chairperson of the Convention People's Party (CPP). She was the first woman to lead a major political party in Ghana. In the 2008 parliamentary elections, she won the seat for the Jomoro constituency on her first try. She is the daughter of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President.

 Early life and education 
Samia was born in 1960 in Aburi, in Ghana’s Eastern Region. On the day of the 1966 military coup that removed her father, Kwame Nkrumah, from power, she had to leave Ghana with her mother and brothers. The Egyptian government helped them settle in Egypt.

In 1975, her family returned to Ghana at the invitation of the government led by General Acheampong. Samia attended Achimota School. But in the early 1980s, she left Ghana again when her mother decided to go back to Egypt.

Later, Samia moved to London and studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in the United Kingdom. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic Studies in 1991 and then a Master's degree from the same school in 1993.

 Career 
Honourable Samia Nkrumah began working as a bank clerk in 1984 at the London branch of the Bank of India. In 1989, she started working as a journalist with Al-Ahram in different roles.

In 2024, she began working on a coconut factory project in the Jomoro Constituency. The goal of this project is to turn Jomoro into a global center for coconut processing and improve the lives of the people in the community.

 Politics 
In an article titled "The new Mandela is a woman," the Huffington Post talked about Samia Nkrumah’s influence on politics in Ghana and Africa. She helped start Africa Must Unite, a group that promotes the ideas and political beliefs of her father, Kwame Nkrumah. Because of these beliefs, she chose to become active in Ghanaian politics.

In 2023, she planned to run as an Independent Candidate for the Jomoro Constituency seat in the 2024 Ghanaian general election.

Samia Nkrumah, a former Member of Parliament and former leader of a major political party in Ghana, also spoke out against an anti-LGBT bill. She asked the president not to approve the bill, calling it “brutal, harsh, and unjust.” On February 28, Ghana’s parliament passed a strict law that gives tougher punishments for same-sex relationships and makes it a crime to support LGBT rights. The law also punishes people who don't report LGBT individuals to the police or who share content online that supports LGBT activities.

Since then, well-known people like Samia Nkrumah have asked President Nana Akufo-Addo not to approve the bill. Ghana’s finance minister also sent a letter to the president, warning that the bill could badly hurt the country’s economy if it becomes law.

 Member of Parliament 
In December 2008, Samia Nkrumah ran for the Jomoro constituency seat in Ghana’s Western Region and won. She defeated the sitting MP, Lee Ocran of the NDC, with a majority of 6,571 votes, getting about 50% of the total valid votes.

As the only CPP member in parliament, she had to choose between working with the NDC, who had the majority, or the minority NPP. She chose to work with the NPP in the 5th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana..

She served as the MP for the Jomoro constituency from 2011 to 2015.

 Chairperson of CPP 
She became the first woman to lead a major political party in Ghana. Her win, along with three other women from the party, was seen as a sign of new hope for the struggling CPP and showed the party’s continued support for women's rights.

On 10 September 2011, she was elected as the first female chairperson of the Convention People's Party. She won with 1,191 votes, while the person already in the position got 353 votes. This made her the first woman to ever head a major political party in Ghana. She held the position until 2015.

 Personal life 

Kwame Nkrumah strongly supported pan-Africanism, the idea of uniting African countries. He helped start the Organization of African Unity and won the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962.

Samia has two brothers, Gamal and Sekou Nkrumah. She also has an older half-brother, Professor Francis Nkrumah, who is a retired teacher and children's doctor. He used to be the director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Legon, Ghana. In July 2023, Samia and her brother Sekou had a public disagreement about whether their father was a dictator.

After their father was removed from power in Ghana’s first successful military coup on 24 February 1966, Samia, her mother, and her brothers had to escape to Cairo, Egypt They were flown there by a plane sent by Egypt’s President, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Their father went into exile in Guinea.

Samia is married to Michele Melega, a man from Italy and Denmark. They have a son named Kwame Thomas Melega.  Samia speaks Arabic, Italian, Danish, and English. She has worked for many years as a journalist and media expert, including in Egypt.  She also supports causes like ending child marriage and promoting women's rights.

 References 

Category:Living people
Category:1960 births