Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey

Emmanuel Odarkwei Obetsebi-Lamptey (26 April 1902 – 29 January 1963) was a politician in the British colony of the Gold Coast. He was one of the founding fathers of Ghana and one of the founders and leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) known as "The Big Six". He was the father of NPP politician Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey.

Early life

He was born in 1902 at a small village near Ode, a suburb of Accra. His father was Jacob Mills-Lamptey, a businessman, and his mother was Victoria Ayeley Tetteh. His step-brother was Gottlieb Ababio Adom (1904 – 1979), a Ghanaian educator, journalist, editor and Presbyterian minister who served as the Editor of the Christian Messenger, the newspaper of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana from 1966 to 1970. ^[1] Obetsebi-Lamptey was educated at the Accra Wesleyan School and Kv. Government Boys' School, from which he transferred to the Royal School in 1921 to complete his elementary education, passing his school certificate examination, he was employed as a shorthand typist by A. J. Ocansey, a prosperous merchant from Ada, a port east of Accra at the mouth of the Volta River. In 1923, Obetsebi-Lamptey passed his civil service examination and became a clerk in the Customs and Excise Department. He worked in Accra till 1930 and in Takoradi till 1934, when he left for the United Kingdom to study law.

Education

He graduated LL.B., and was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1939. By then World War II (1939-45) had begun, and he stayed and worked in England, taking an active part in student politics and in the agitation for colonial freedom.^[2]

Legacy

There is a roundabout on the Ring Road West in Accra named after him.^[3]

References

See also

• The Big Six
• United Gold Coast Convention
• Jacob Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey