Ofori-Atta
The Ofori-Atta family is composed of the bearers of an Akan language patronymic surname and their relatives. The family is of royal Akyem origins and has been active in business, politics, law and government in Ghana.
Origin of the surname
[edit]The name Ofori-Atta is derived from the regnal name of the family's founder, Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, one of the most venerable and renowned kings of the Gold Coast during the early 1900s. Born Kwadwo Fredua Agyeman, he was rechristened Aaron Emmanuel Boakye-Danquah before ascending the Ofori-Panin stool in 1912. Although matrilineality dictated that his progeny be denied the royal succession, their inheritance of the surname highlights the fact that they are direct descendants of the king of that name. The original family name of Nana Sir Ofori-Atta I, Boakye-Danquah, remains as a prominent family name, reflecting the shared heritage of the two names.
Notable members of the family
[edit]Notable members of the Ghanaian political dynasty include:
- Ofori Atta I (1881 – 1943), who was the Okyenhene or King of Akyem Abuakwa
- J. B. Danquah (1895 – 1965), member of "The Big Six", politician and writer, famous for helping to name Ghana
- Paul Danquah, (born Joseph Paul Walcott; 1925 – 2015), British film actor
- William Ofori Atta (1910 – 1988), a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention, one of "The Big Six" detained by the Gold Coast colonial government after the 1948 Accra riots and later foreign minister (1971 – 1972)
- Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta (1912 – 1978), politician and the fourth Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana
- Susan Ofori-Atta (1917 – 1985), first woman medical doctor of the Gold Coast
- Adeline Akufo-Addo, née Nana Yeboakua Ofori-Atta (1917 – 2004), daughter of Ofori-Atta I, wife of second republic president of Ghana Edward Akufo-Addo, and mother of Nana Akufo-Addo
- Jones Ofori Atta (1937– 2020), economist and politician, Deputy Minister of Finance, 1969–1972
- Nana Akufo-Addo (born 1944), politician and current President of Ghana
- Ken Ofori-Atta (born 1959), investment banker, co-founder of Databank in Ghana and former finance minister
- Nana Oforiatta Ayim, award-winning writer, art historian and filmmaker
- Kwesi Amoako-Atta (1920–1963), Minister of Finance (1964–1966), Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana (1960–1964), son of Ofori-Atta I
- Aaron Boakye-Danquah (born 1991), Ambassador of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands