BREAKING: Former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings Dies at 76

Ghana is mourning the loss of one of its most prominent female leaders, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who reportedly passed away in Accra on Thursday, 23 October 2025. She was 76 years old. Her death marks the end of a long chapter of activism, public service and influence in Ghanaian politics and the women’s movement.

Born on 17 November 1948 in Cape Coast of the Central Region into an Ashanti royal lineage, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings attended Achimota School and later the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where she studied Art and Textiles. Her father, John Osei-Tutu Agyeman, was a business executive recruited into the first post-colonial government; her mother, Felicia Agyeman, an educator who instilled in her the value of service and leadership.

She married Flight Lieutenant (later President) Jerry John Rawlings in 1977, and together they had four children: Zanetor, Yaa Asantewaa, Amina and Kimathi. Rawlings first led Ghana briefly in 1979 and from 1981 until 2001, during which time Konadu served as First Lady, making her Ghana’s longest-serving First Lady.

From early on, she charted a course of influence beyond the usual spousal role. In 1982 she founded and led the 31st December Women’s Movement (31st DWM), which mobilised more than two million Ghanaian women across local communities. Under her leadership the movement established more than 800 day-care centres, supported literacy and income-generating projects for rural women, and spearheaded the Intestate Succession Law of 1985, a landmark reform protecting widows and children when spouses died without wills.

As First Lady she became a force for women’s empowerment, especially in rural Ghana. She often emphasised that “women’s vital role in promoting peace in the family, the country and the world at large must be acknowledged and they must be empowered politically.” In 1995 she travelled with President Rawlings on a major United States tour, while also completing a fellowship in philanthropy and non-profit organisations at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The tour and her academic engagements underscored her dual focus on domestic service and international engagement.

Her political ambition extended beyond ceremonial roles. In 2016 she made history by becoming the first woman in Ghana to run for the presidency under her own party, the National Democratic Party (NDP), which she founded in 2012 after leaving the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). Though she captured a small share of the vote, her candidacy inspired debate around women’s leadership and broken glass ceilings in Ghanaian politics.

Throughout her career she was also known for her distinctive head-wraps and style that drew international attention; Vogue once referred to her as “Ghana’s Hillary Clinton,” underscoring her prominence as a female political figure.

In recent years, though less publicly active following the death of President Rawlings in 2020, Nana Konadu remained a respected elder stateswoman, a mentor to women’s groups and a symbol of how women’s social and political influence could be expanded in Ghana.

Her passing has generated an outpouring of tributes. Political leaders such as former President John Dramani Mahama described her as “a woman of great courage and conviction who inspired generations of Ghanaian women to rise above social limitations.” The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection noted that her work “laid the foundation for women’s advocacy and empowerment that continues to guide national policy today.”

For many in grassroots communities her legacy is personal: former beneficiaries of the 31st DWM programmes say that the training, literacy classes and micro-loans they received changed the trajectory of their families. One female entrepreneur from the Volta Region recalled learning tailoring financed by the movement and now employing other women in her town.

Nana Konadu’s contributions are set against a backdrop of Ghana’s post-colonial journey, a nation once battling uneven development, gender disparities and weak institutions. Her life blended roles of First Lady, activist, politician and women’s rights pioneer, and she used them to help reshape Ghana’s landscape of empowerment.

While the official funeral arrangements are still to be announced by the Rawlings family and the government, plans are expected within days for a state-recognised ceremony given her unique national significance.

Her death leaves a deep void in Ghana’s political and social spheres. Yet, the path she carved remains, for politicians, women’s groups and young activists who now look to continue her work of bridging gender gaps, promoting inclusive leadership and ensuring that women’s voices are part of national decision-making.

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