Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana

The Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Ghana. The current speaker, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin,  was sworn-in as Speaker of the Eight Parliament of Ghana on 7 January 2021.

History


The office of the Speaker was first created in the then Gold Coast, under the Gold Coast(Constitution) Order in Council, 1950. Subsequent constitutions have provided for the election of the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana.

The first speaker of the Parliament of Ghana was Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist who was Speaker of the National Assembly in 1951. He stayed at post till December 1957, a few months after Ghana gained independence.

Prior to Ghana's independence, the Governor of Ghana presided over the legislative council. This changed in 1949 when Emmanuel Quist became its first African president. The Legislative Council elected Quist as its first speaker in 1951.

Under the fourth republic, the longest serving speaker of parliament is Daniel Francis Annan who served from 7 January 1993 to 6 January 2001. In January 2009, Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo became the first female speaker of the Ghanaian parliament.

Appointment and Tenure of Office
Article 95 of the 1992 Ghana constitution provides that, the election of a speaker shall be from among the members of parliament or from persons who are qualified to be members of parliament. Where the speaker is elected from among the members of parliament, Article 97 of the constitution specifies that the Speaker vacates his or her seat in Parliament, triggering a by-election. The only person to have been in this position so far is Edward Adjaho who was the elected member for the then Akatsi South constituency.

Deputy Speaker
There are two Deputy Speakers who are elected from among the members of parliament by the members. Both deputy speakers cannot be from the same political party. Currently, the Deputy Speakers are the MP for Bekwai, Joseph Osei-Owusu, of the New Patriotic Party and MP for Fomena, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, an Independent MP.

Role
Article 101 of the Ghana Constitution stipulates that the Speaker presides at all sittings of parliament. Where the speaker is not able to do so, one of the two deputies presides. No parliamentary business can take place without the speaker in the chair.

The Office of the Speaker is the third highest office in Ghana after the president and vice president. Hence, the speaker may act on behalf of the president if neither the president nor the vice president is able to do so. The 1992 constitution stipulates that there should be an election within three months of the speaker assuming the presidency due to the death or removal of the president and vice president. The Speaker does not have a vote in parliament. This means that when the votes are tied, the motion is lost. The Speaker is also the chairman of the parliamentary Service Board. Additionally, the Speaker appoints four other members to this board. The sixth member of the board is the Clerk of Parliament.

List of speakers
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;" ! colspan=3 |

Legislative Council of the Gold Coast
! width=200 | President ! width=200 | Time frame ! width=200 | Period ! colspan=3 |
 * Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist || 1949 - 1951 || Gold Coast
 * Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist || 1949 - 1951 || Gold Coast

National Assembly of the Gold Coast
! width=200 | Speaker ! width=200 | Time frame ! width=200 | Period ! colspan=3 |
 * Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist || 1951 - 1957 || Gold Coast
 * Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist || 1951 - 1957 || Gold Coast

Parliament of Ghana
! width=200 | Speaker ! width=200 | Time frame ! width=200 | Period (8th parliament)
 * Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist || March 1957 - December 1957 || National Assembly
 * Augustus Molade Akiwumi || February 1958 - June 1960 || National Assembly
 * Joseph Richard Asiedu || July 1960 - June 1965 || 1st Republic
 * Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta || June 1965 - February 1966 || 1st Republic
 * Nii Amaa Ollennu || October 1969 - January 1972 || 2nd Republic
 * Jacob Hackenbug Griffiths-Randolph || September 1979 - December 1981 || 3rd Republic
 * Daniel Francis Annan || January 1993 - January 2001 || 4th Republic (1st and 2nd parliaments)
 * Peter Ala Adjetey || January 2001 - January 2005 || 4th Republic (3rd parliament)
 * Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes || January 2005 - January 2009 || 4th Republic (4th parliament)
 * Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo || January 2009 - January 2013 || 4th Republic (5th parliament) First female Speaker
 * Edward Adjaho || January 2013 - January 2017 || 4th Republic (6th parliament)
 * Aaron Mike Oquaye || January 2017 - January 2021 || 4th Republic (7th parliament)
 * Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin
 * January 2021 - Incumbent
 * 4th Republic
 * Peter Ala Adjetey || January 2001 - January 2005 || 4th Republic (3rd parliament)
 * Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes || January 2005 - January 2009 || 4th Republic (4th parliament)
 * Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo || January 2009 - January 2013 || 4th Republic (5th parliament) First female Speaker
 * Edward Adjaho || January 2013 - January 2017 || 4th Republic (6th parliament)
 * Aaron Mike Oquaye || January 2017 - January 2021 || 4th Republic (7th parliament)
 * Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin
 * January 2021 - Incumbent
 * 4th Republic
 * Aaron Mike Oquaye || January 2017 - January 2021 || 4th Republic (7th parliament)
 * Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin
 * January 2021 - Incumbent
 * 4th Republic
 * 4th Republic
 * }
 * }