Betty Mould-Iddrisu

Betty Mould-Iddrisu (born 22 March 1953[1][2]) is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. She was the Minister for Education in Ghana.[3][4] Her first direct involvement in the Ghana government was as the Attorney General and Minister for Justice of Ghana since 2009[5][6] She is the first woman to serve in this capacity in Ghana.[7] Prior to that, she had been the Head of Legal and Constitutional Affairs of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.[8] Mould-Iddrisu had been one of those thought to be the likely nominee for Vice President of Ghana on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).[9]

Betty Mould-Iddrisu
Minister for Education
In office Jan 2011 – Jan 2012
President	John Atta Mills
Preceded by	Alex Tettey-Enyo
Succeeded by	Enoch Teye Mensah
20th Attorney General and Minister for Justice
In office Feb 2009 – Jan 2011
President	John Atta Mills
Preceded by	Joe Ghartey
Succeeded by	Martin Amidu
Personal details
Born	22 March 1953
Nationality	Ghanaian
Political party	National Democratic Congress
Spouse(s)	Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu
Relations	Alex Mould - brother
Education	Accra Academy
Alma mater	University of Ghana London School of Economics
Profession	Lawyer
Known for	First female Attorney General of Ghana

Education

Betty had her early education at Ghana International School and attended the Achimota Scchool[10] and Accra Academy[11] for her secondary education.[10] She obtained a bachelor's degree in Law (L.L.B) from the University of Ghana, Legon between 1973 and 1976.[12][13] Her academic qualifications include a Master's Degree gained in 1978 from the London School of Economics.

Career

In 2003, she was appointed the Director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, an inter-governmental organisation comprising 53 member states based in London. Some of the highlights of her time at the Secretariat include overseeing implementation of mandates in the area of transnational crime, counter terrorism and international humanitarian law. She oversaw the implementation of the Secretariats programmes on anti-corruption, asset recovery and judicial ethics. In addition, she implemented diverse legal program's through judicial reforms, legislative drafting and building capacity in the legal field in the Commonwealth among-st others[14].

She has given advice to Heads of States, Ministers and she is frequently called upon to give high level advice to governments, politicians and civil society. She also advises member states in the areas of international law, constitutional law and human rights and organizes high level ministerial and senior officials meetings. She headed the Secretariat Team of the Electoral Observer Group to the 2006 Ugandan Elections.

She acts as In-house-Chief legal adviser to the Secretary General and Secretariat. In that capacity she manages a team of lawyers from diverse backgrounds and is responsible for managing her divisional budget and sourcing for extra budgetary resources. She also assists the Secretary General and his two Deputies in management of the Secretariat and represents the secretariat at Tribunals and Courts. Between 1990 and 2000, at a time she was fulfilling her duties at the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat, she taught at the law faculty of University of Ghana, also publishing various papers and articles on intellectual property.[15][16]

Attorney-General of Ghana

She was sworn-in in February, 2009 as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General by H.E. Prof. J.E.A. Mills, President of the Republic of Ghana. "You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man’s freedom. You can only be free if I am free." Clarence Darrow

Resignation

She resigned from the government in January 2012. The reasons were not made public. This was a few days after her successor as Attorney-General was sacked by the President.[17] She had been under pressure in relation to a case while she was serving as the Attorney-General.[18] She was succeeded at the Education Ministry by Enoch Teye Mensah.[19]

See also

• List of Mills government ministers

References

1. "Betty Mould-Iddrisu | Profile | Africa Confidential". www.africa-confidential.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
2. Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership: The Republic of Ghana
3. "Cabinet reshuffle: Zita dropped, Betty for education". Ghana Home Page. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
4. "Betty Mould Iddrisu, Republic of Ghana: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
5. "First woman Attorney-General Sworn In". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
6. "NDC women were pleasantly stunned with Mahama's choice of Naana Opoku-Agyeman - Betty Mould-Iddrisu - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
7. "First woman Attorney-General Sworn In". General News of Thursday, 26 February 2009. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
8. Emmanuel K. Dogbevi. "Betty Mould Iddrissu Disappointed". The Ghanaian Journal. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
9. "Betty Mould-Iddrissu ready to run with Mills". MyZongo.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
10. ""I just wished he could have lived longer" - Betty Mould-Iddrisu mourns Rawlings". The Ghana Report. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
11. "Accra Academy old students launch scholarship scheme". Graphic Online. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
12. "Betty Mould-Iddrisu: Ghana's first female Attorney General – Today Newspaper". Retrieved 11 July 2020.
13. "Ministers". ghanareview.com. Ghana Review. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
14. "Pioneer African Women in Law". African Women in Law. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
15. "Moynihan Institute of global affairs -Betty Mould-Iddrisu". Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
16. "Pioneer African Women in Law". African Women in Law. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
17. "President Mills Relieves Attorney-General Of His Post". Ghana government. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
18. "Education Minister Betty Mould-Iddrisu resigns". General News. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
19. "E.T. Mensah Takes Over Education". General News. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 25 January 2012.