Archie Casely-Hayford

Archibald "Archie" Casely-Hayford (1898 – 20 August 1977) was a British-trained Ghanaian barrister and politician, who was involved in nationalist politics in the former Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). Having joined the Convention People's Party (CPP), in 1951 he was elected Municipal Member for Kumasi and was appointed by Kwame Nkrumah Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the government of the First Republic.[1] When Nkrumah declared Ghana's Independence on 6 March 1957, he was photographed on the podium flanked by Casely-Hayford, together with Kojo Botsio, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Nathaniel Azarco Welbeck and Krobo Edusei.[2]

The Gold Coast cabinet, 6 March 1957. Front row, left to right: Archie Casely-Hayford, Kojo Botsio; Kwame Nkrumah; Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Edward Okyere Asafu-Adjaye (Ghana High Commissioner in London). Back row, left to right: Joseph Henry Allassani, Nathaniel Azarco Welbeck, Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta, Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, John Ernest Jantuah, Imoru Egala, Minister of Industries.

Archibald "Archie" Casely-Hayford
Personal details
Born1898
Axim, Gold Coast
Died20 August 1977(1977-08-20) (aged 78–79)
Accra, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
Political partyConvention People's Party
ChildrenBeattie, Louis, Desiree Casely-Hayford and Michael Casely-Hayford
Parent(s)Beatrice Madelene (née Pinnock) and Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford
EducationMfantsipim School; Dulwich College
Alma materClare College, University of Cambridge
OccupationBarrister and politician

Biography

Early years and education

Archie Casely-Hayford was born in Axim, Gold Coast, to Beatrice Madelene (née Pinnock) and respected pan-Africanist Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford.[3] Archie was educated at Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, and then in Britain at Dulwich College, London. He subsequently studied at Clare College, University of Cambridge, receiving an MA degree in law and economics.[4]

Before leaving London, he married Esther (Essie) Smith in May 1921.[5]

After returning home to the Gold Coast, he practised as a lawyer from 1921 until 1936. He became a member of Sekondi Town Council in 1926, and was made a district magistrate in 1936, rising to be senior district magistrate by 1948, before resuming private legal practice.[4]

National politics

Entering nationalist politics, he joined Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party (CPP), and before the 1951 elections acted as defence counsel for Nkrumah and other CPP leaders,[4] thereby earning the title "Defender of the Verandah Boys".[6] In Nkrumah's first government, Casely-Hayford was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1951,[1] and later became Minister of Communications and, in 1954, Minister for the Interior.[4][7]

Honours

Casely-Hayford was honoured by Ghana with the Grand Medal and was awarded the Queen's Coronation Medal from Britain.[4]

Death and family

At the time of his death, at the Ridge Hospital, Accra, on 20 August 1977,[8][9] he held the post of Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast.[4] In the years prior, he also had been serving as the head of the wider Casely-Hayford family. His eldest son Beattie Casely-Hayford became the first director of the Ghana Arts Council, and his other son Louis Casely-Hayford was a chartered engineer who served as CEO of the Volta River Authority.[10] His youngest son Michael Casely-Hayford is a media consultant. His daughter Desiree was living in Australia as of 2013.

References
  1. "The men who flanked Nkrumah on Independence eve", National Commission on Culture, 14 April 2007. Archived 9 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. Dedey, Kosi (13 June 2008). "CPP Salutes 'True Big Six'...on 59th anniversary of the Convention People's Party". GhanaWeb.
  3. Nancy J. Jacobs, African History through Sources, Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 153–54 (reproduces photograph of Archie Casely-Hayford with his father from David Kimble's A Political History of Ghana, Oxford: Clarendon, 1963).
  4. Casely-Hayford, A., Makers of Modern Africa: Profiles in History, London: Africa Journal Ltd for Africa Books Ltd, 1981, p. 125.
  5. Certificate MX 369065, General Register Office, London.
  6. David Owusu-Ansah, "Casely-Hayford, Archie", in Historical Dictionary of Ghana, Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, p. 82.
  7. Kodwo Mensah, "Archie As I Knew Him", Daily Graphic, Issue 8355, 30 August 1977.
  8. Nkrumah, I. K. (23 August 1977). "Casely-Hayford dies at 79". Daily Graphic. No. 8349. p. 1.
  9. "Casely-Hayford dies at 79". Ghana News. 31 August 1977. p. 10.
  10. "VRA Biodata" (PDF). Volta River Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
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