Joyce Bamford-Addo

Rt. Hon. Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo
Bamford-Addo in parliament
Speaker of Parliament (4th of Fourth Republic)
In office 7 January 2009 – 6 January 2013
President	John Evans Atta-Mills (2009-2012) John Dramani Mahama (2012)
Vice President	John Dramani Mahama (2009-2012) Kwesi Amissah-Arthur (2012)
Preceded by	Rt. Hon. Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes
Succeeded by	Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho
Supreme Court Judge
In office 1991 – October 2004
Appointed by	Jerry Rawlings
President	Jerry Rawlings (1991-2001) John Kufuor (2001-2009)
Personal details
Born	26 March 1937 Accra, Ghana
Nationality	Ghanaian
Profession	Judge, Barrister
Religion	Catholic

Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo (born 26 March 1937) was the Speaker of the 5th Session of the Parliament of Ghana. The Speaker's position is the third most important in the Republic of Ghana. She is also a retired Supreme Court Judge. She was also the first female Speaker in such a position in the West African sub-region.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Joyce Bamford-Addo attended the St. Mary’s Boarding School and the OLA Boarding School along with her sister Cynthia in Cape Coast for her basic education. She subsequently attended Holy Child School, also in Cape Coast for her secondary education. She proceeded to the United Kingdom for further studies. She joined the Inner Temple for her law studies and was called to the English Bar in 1961.^[3]

Judicial Service

Mrs. Bamford-Addo returned to Ghana after working in the UK for a year. She was called to the Ghana Bar in 1962. She worked as a State Attorney from 1963 and rose to become Chief State Attorney in 1973. She was appointed the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1976, a position she held for 10 years. She was also appointed by Jerry Rawlings as a Supreme Court Judge in 1991. She retired from the Supreme Court in October 2004 when she was bypassed, allegedly, for her junior, Justice George Kingsley Acquah, in the appointment of Chief Justice.^[4]

Politics

In 1991, Mrs. Bamford-Addo became the 2nd Deputy Speaker of Ghana's Consultative Assembly, set up to draft what became Ghana's current constitution, the 1992 constitution. Following the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, she was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.^[5]

References

1. "Grandma Joyce is Historic Speaker". Ghanian Chronicle. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
2. Cynthia Boakye (2009-01-08). "Ghana records another first. Justice Bamford Addo is first Female Speaker". Business News (Statesman Online). Retrieved 2009-01-30.
3. "The Speaker - Rt. Hon. Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo". Parliament of Ghana. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
4. "CV of the new Speaker". General News of Thursday, 8 January 2009 (Ghana Home Page). Retrieved 2009-01-29.
5. "Fifth Parliament makes history". General News of Wednesday, 7 January 2009 (Ghana Home Page). Retrieved 2009-01-29.

External links

• Profile on Parliament of Ghana website