Lawrence Rosario Abavana

Lawrence Rosario Abavana (1920 – 29 May 2004) was a Ghanaian politician[1] and teacher by profession. He served in various ministerial portfolios in the first republic and also served as a member of the council of state in the third republic.[2] He was a member of the Convention People's Party (CPP).[3]

Lawrence Rosario Abavana
Member of the Ghana Parliament
for Navrongo
In office
1965–1966
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byJoseph Evarisi Seyire
Member of the Ghana Parliament
for Kassena-Nankana South
In office
1951–1965
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Minister for Mines and Mineral Resources
In office
February 1965 – June 1965
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah

Minister for Interior
In office
May 1964 – February 1965
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah
Preceded byKwaku Boateng
In office
June 1965 – February 1966
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah
Succeeded byJohn Willie Kofi Harlley
Minister for Information and Broadcasting
In office
September 1962 – October 1963
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah
Minister for Trade
In office
May 1961 – August 1961
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah
Preceded byFerdinand Koblavi Dra Goka
Succeeded byFerdinand Koblavi Dra Goka (ministry was merged with the Ministry of Finance)

Minister for Health
In office
July 1960 – May 1961
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah
Succeeded byKomla Agbeli Gbedemah
In office
October 1963 – January 1964
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah
Commissioner of Northern Ghana
In office
4 November 1957 – July 1960
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah

Minister for Agriculture
In office
1957 – 4 November 1957
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah
In office
October 1961 – September 1962
PresidentDr. Kwame Nkrumah
Preceded byKojo Botsio
Succeeded byKrobo Edusei
Personal details
Born1920
Navrongo, Gold Coast
Died29 May 2004(2004-05-29) (aged 83–84)
CitizenshipGhanaian
Alma materAchimota College

Early life and education

Lawrence was born in 1920 at Navrongo. He had his early education at the Roman Catholic School in Navrongo. He continued at Achimota College where he was trained as a teacher.[4][5][6]

Politics

Member of parliament

He was elected as a member of the legislative assembly in 1951 representing Kassena-Nankana South under the ticket of the Convention People's Party (CPP) that same year, he was appointed ministerial secretary to the minister of communication and works. In 1954, he defeated J. E. Seyire of the Northern People's Party by 5,795 to 3,344 to retain his seat as a member of the legislative assembly.[7][1]

Ministerial secretary

In 1951 along with winning the Kassena-Nankana South seat under the ticket of the CPP he was appointed as ministerial secretary to the minister of communication and works. He became ministerial secretary to the minister of agriculture that same year of 1951.[8]

Minister of State

In 1956, he was appointed minister without portfolio.[9][6] A year later he was given a portfolio – agriculture.[10] As Minister for Agriculture, he led the Ghana delegation to a cocoa conference in September 1957. On 4 November 1957, he was appointed regional commissioner for Northern Ghana (this included the Northern Region the Upper East Region and the Upper West Region),[11] and in July 1960, he was appointed Minister for Health.[12]

In May 1961, he was appointed Minister for Trade;[13] as the Minister for Trade he led the Ghana delegation to Dahomey in August 1961. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture for the second time in October that same year,[14] and in September 1962, he was appointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting.[15][5] As information minister, he led the Ghana delegation to the Conference of Information Ministers from Commonwealth African Countries, London in July 1963. He served as Minister for Health for a second occasion from October 1963 to January 1964.[16] As Minister for Health, he led the Ghana delegation to the Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Conference held in Alexandria, United Arab Republic (UAR) in January 1964. He led another delegation in March 1964 to the World Health Assembly, Geneva.

In May 1964, he was appointed Minister for Interior,[17] and in February 1965, Minister for Mines and Mineral Resources.[18] On 11 June 1965, he was reappointed as Minister for Interior.[19][4] He served in that capacity until the Nkrumah government was overthrown in 1966.

Member of council of State

He was appointed a member of Council of state in the third republic by Hilla Limann which lasted from 1979 to 1981, until Hilla Limann was deposed in a coup by Jerry John Rawlings on 31 December 1981.[20][2]

Personal life

His hobbies included Tennis.[4] He was a Roman Catholic and he served as the president of the Retired Catholic Workers Association from 1992 until his death.[2]

Death

He died at the age of 84 on 29 May 2004. He was given a state burial in his hometown in Navrongo, Upper East Region on 3 July 2004.[2]

Memorials and legacy

Streets, roads, crescents and junctions have been named in honour of him, most popular amongst them are ones within the Accra Metropolitan specifically in Kotobabi and Maamobi.[21][22][23][24] There are schools within Accra and Northern which have structures named in honour of him, most notable amongst them is the Abavana Cluster of Schools, a basic school in Kotobabi within the Accra Metropolitan area.[25][26][27]

See also

References
  1. Assembly, Gold Coast Legislative (1956). Debates.
  2. Ghanaweb,"State burial for Abavana on July 3 at Navrongo", Ghanaweb, 23 June 2004.
  3. Packham, Eric S. (2001). Africa in War and Peace. Nova Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56072-939-6.
  4. "Ghana Year Book". Daily Graphic. 1966. p. 192.
  5. "The New Ghana, Volume 7". Ghana Information Services Department. 1962: 93. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Ghana Year Book". Daily Graphic. 1956. p. 118.
  7. Michael Eli Dokosi,"The electoral victories and shock losses of the 1954 Gold Coast election", blakkpepper, 10 June 2018.
  8. "Debates". Gold Coast. Legislative Assembly. 1956: 119. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. Rathbone, Richard (2000). Nkrumah & the Chiefs: The Politics of Chieftaincy in Ghana, 1951-60. Ohio State University Press. p. xv. ISBN 9780821413067.
  10. "Ghana Today, Volumes 1-2". Information Section, Ghana Office. 1957: 98. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. Packham, E. S (2004). Africa in War and Peace. Nova Publishers. p. 181. ISBN 9781560729396.
  12. "WORKING HONEYMOON IN AFRICA". Ebony. Vol. 16, no. 5. USA: Johnson Publishing Company. March 1961. p. 47. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  13. "Commonwealth Survey, Volume 7". H.M.S.O. 1961: 1007. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. "The Ghana Farmer, Volume 6, Issue 1". Department of Agriculture. 1962: 42. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. "Africa Diary, Volume 3". Africa Publications (India). 1963: 994. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. Agency, United States Central Intelligence (1963). Daily Report, Foreign Radio Broadcasts.
  17. "Executive Instruments". Ghana Publishing Company. 1964: 106. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. "West Africa". West Africa Publishing Company, Limited. 1965: 127. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. "Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Parts 1-2". Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd. 1967: 762. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. "West Africa, Issues 3336-3360". West Africa Publishing Company Limited. 1981: 1902. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. "Abavana Street, Accra Metropolitan". www.cartogiraffe.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  22. "Abavana - ghana-streets.openalfa.com/streets". ghana-streets.openalfa.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  23. "UDS Navrongo Campus Should Be Renamed After Lawrence Rosario Abavana And Not C.K. Tedam". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  24. "Abavana Maamobi - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  25. "Ayawaso Central bags GH₵881,316 revenue in 9 months". Ghanaian Times. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  26. Dogbevi, Emmanuel (30 January 2012). "USAID grants Ghana $2.3m for construction of basic school complexes in Accra". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  27. "Abavana Schools Get Waste Bins". DailyGuide Network. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
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