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Mary Chinery-Hesse

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Mary Chinery-Hesse
FAAS, OSG
Chancellor of the University of Ghana
Assumed office
1 August 2018
Preceded byKofi Annan
Personal details
Born
Mary Blay

(1938-10-29) 29 October 1938 (age 85)
NationalityGhanaian
SpouseL.J. Chinery-Hesse
Children
  • Herman
  • Naa Bortei-Doku
  • Mary-Maude
Parents
Alma mater
Occupation
Known for
Awards

Mary Chinery-Hesse,FAAS, OSG, née Blay (born 29 October 1938)[1] is an international civil servant and diplomat serving as the first woman Chancellor of the University of Ghana, inducted on 1 August 2018.[2] She was the first female Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organization[3][4][5][6][7]

Early life and education

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Mary Blay was born to Robert Samuel Blay, a barrister, jurist, and Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana during the First Republic. Her mother was Dinah Blay. She had her secondary education at the Wesley Girls' Senior High School in Cape Coast.[8] She also holds a BA (Hons) in Sociology and Economics and a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from the University of Ghana, and she did postgraduate training in Development Economics at Trinity College Dublin.[9][10] At the World Bank Institute in Washington D.C., she was inscribed as a Fellow of the Institute.

Career

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In her early career, Mary Chinery-Hesse was a principal secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and secretary of the National Economic Planning Council.[11] She joined the UN in 1981, where she held the appointment of the first African woman Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System and Resident Representative of UNDP to many countries, including Sierra Leone, Tanzania, the Seychelles, and Uganda.[12] She headed the Consultative Committee on Programme and Operational Questions (CCPOQ) of the United Nations from 1993 to 1998, the Commonwealth Expert Group of Eminent Persons on Structural Adjustment and Women, and was instrumental in the published report, Engendering Adjustment.[13] She belonged to the Council of African Advisers of the World Bank between 1992 and 1998.[14] In the 1990s, she chaired the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on Review of Progress in the Implementation of the Programme for the Least Developed Countries.[12] She was a member of the Eminent Persons’ Advisory Panel of the African Union and served on the Zedillo Commission, more formally known as the Distinguished High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on Financing for Development.[12]

In 1989, she was appointed as the first woman Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.[3][12] She served as an advisor to John Kufour, the former President of Ghana. She was the vice chairman of the National Development Planning Commission.[12]

She has served on several boards, including those at the Centre for Policy Analysis and the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.[12] She was also a Commissioner at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission and at the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa.[12]

She was appointed Chancellor of the University of Ghana succeeding Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General.[15] She assumed this position on 1 August 2018 and served for the first 5-year term. She was reappointed in July 2023 and is currently serving a second term which commenced on 1 August 2023 and would conclude 31 July 2028. [16]

She serves as the Chair of the Goodwill Ambassadors of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre[17] and is also the Chair of the Board of the Centre for Regional Integration in Africa.[18]

Chinery-Hesse Committee

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She was commissioned by the erstwhile Government of former President John Kufour to determine the end-of-service benefits and emoluments of Article 71 officer holders.[19][20]

Personal life

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She was married to Lebrecht James Chinery-Hesse (1930–2018), a Ghanaian lawyer and former principal state attorney who had done international stints in Sierra Leone, Zambia, and Uganda and was awarded the Grand Medal by the Ghanaian government. [21] Their son, Herman Chinery-Hesse, is a software entrepreneur.[22]

Works

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  • Chinnery-Hesse, Mary et al. (1989), "Engendering adjustment for the 1990s : report of a Commonwealth expert group on women and structural adjustment" London: Commonwealth Secretariat[23]

Legacy

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From 2010 to 2013, she was a member of the Panel of the Wise, a consultative body of the African Union for West Africa and the board chairman for Zenith Bank, Ghana.[24][25]

She has accomplished a lot of firsts. In addition to being Ghana's first female Chancellor of the country's top university, Mrs. Chinery-Hesse "was the first African woman to attain the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and the first African woman to be appointed Resident Coordinator of the UN System."[26]

Awards and recognition

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Chinery-Hesse received the highest national award in Ghana the Order of the Star of Ghana under John Kufour's administration. She was also awarded the Gusi Peace Prize for International Diplomacy and Humanitarianism in Manila, Philippines, on 24 November 2010.[15][27] In 1991, the University of Ghana bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Law degree upon Mrs. Chinery-Hesse, making her the first female graduate of the University of Ghana to receive this prestigious honor.[28] In November 2021, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of London for her contributions to public service.[1][4]

Chinery-Hesse launched the Council on Foreign Relations-Ghana (CFR-Ghana) Memoirs Project Fund.[29] The creation of the Fund satisfies one of the Council's primary goals, which was to support and encourage retired diplomats and other professionals to write books. The "Contemporary Issues in Foreign Policy Diplomacy and International Affairs" book, which was published by the CFR-Ghana, was released in Accra at the same time as the CFR-Ghana Memoirs Project Fund. It was a collection of essays derived from a series of symposia and online webinars hosted by the CFR-Ghana.[citation needed]

The University of Ghana reappointed Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse as Chancellor. The University of Ghana's first female chancellor, Mrs. Chinnery-Hesse, was credited with reviving ties with the University of London, the university's former degree-granting partner. The appointment of Mrs. Chinery-Hesse is valid from 1 August 2023, through 31 July 2028.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mary CHINERY-HESSE - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta companies house Government Of Ghana. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Chinery-Hesse reappointed as chancellor of the University of Ghana". GhanaWeb. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Mrs Mary Chinery-Hesse | The Global African Investment Summit". tgais. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs - MOWAC". femaleachievers. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Dr. Mary Chinery-Hesse". idpc. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  6. ^ "COMMISSIONERS' BIOGRAPHIES | West African Drugs Commission". wacommissionondrugs. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  7. ^ "First female Chancellor for University of Ghana to be sworn-in Wednesday". Myjoyonline. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Wesley Girls High School - Past Students". wesley girls high school. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Biography of Ms. Mary Chinery-Hesse". United Nation. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Mary Chinery-Hesse". ipdet. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Biography of Ms. Mary Chinery-Hesse". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "Biography of Ms. Mary Chinery-Hesse". United Nation. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Biography of Ms. Mary Chinery-Hesse". United Nation. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Biography of Ms. Mary Chinery-Hesse". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Dr. Mary Chinery-Hesse of Ghana". GhanaDot. Archived from the original on 29 December 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Mary Chinery-Hesse re-appointed University of Ghana Chancellor". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  17. ^ "President Nana Akufo-Addo inaugurates Goodwill Ambassadors for KAIPTC". 21 December 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Board of Trustees | Centre for Regional Integration in Africa". cria-africa. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  19. ^ Boateng, Michael Ofori Amanfo. "Chinery Hesse Committee report ready". Politics Myjoyonline. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  20. ^ Musah, Zakaria Tanko. "The Chinery Hesse Committee Report Palaver - A Case of Negligence or Recklessness?". Modern Ghana. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  21. ^ "A "Very Nice Man" Goes Home". DailyGuide Network. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Herman Chinery-Hesse, Biography". Ghanaweb. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  23. ^ Chinnery-Hesse, Mary; Secretariat, Commonwealth; Women, Commonwealth Expert Group on; Adjustment, Structural (1989). Engendering adjustment for the 1990s : report of a Commonwealth expert group on women and structural adjustment. London : Commonwealth Secretariat. ISBN 9780850923407.
  24. ^ Peace FM. "Chinery-Hesse To Chair Board Of Trustees For Komla Dumor Foundation". Peace Fm Online News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  25. ^ "Welcome! to Zenith Bank Ghana". zenithbank Ghana. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  26. ^ Larnyoh, Magdalene (14 July 2023). "Mary Chinery-Hesse reappointed as University of Ghana Chancellor". Yen - Ghana news. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Dr Mary Chinery-Hesse Wins International Award". Modern Ghana. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  28. ^ "Press Release: Reappointment of Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse as Chancellor of the University of Ghana | University of Ghana". University Of Ghana. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  29. ^ emmakd (17 July 2023). "Chinery-Hesse launches CFR-Ghana Memoirs Project Fund". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  30. ^ Quist, Ebenezer Agbey (1 November 2021). "Meet the top 3 principal officers at the University of Ghana who are all women". Yen- Ghana news. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
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