It is reported that ET Mensah, a former Member of Parliament and Council of State member, has passed away at the age of 77.
He had been battling ill-health for some time and reportedly passed away in South Africa.
Mr. Mensah was a prominent figure in Ghanaian politics and served as a Minister for Education and MP for the Ningo-Prampram constituency for over two decades.
He was affectionately referred to as ET Mensah and was survived by his wife and seven children. This news comes shortly after the passing of former First Lady, Theresa Kufuor, on October 1, 2023.
During the time of the PNDC military regime in Ghana, he was the long-time Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), akin to being the Mayor of the City of Accra. He joined the National Democratic Congress when it was formed in 1992.
He also stood for the parliamentary election in 1996 and was elected MP for the Ningo-Prampram constituency, holding the seat for almost a decade.
After the NDC lost the 2000 elections, he continued as a member of parliament. Mensah lost the NDC primaries to Sam George on 21 November 2015.
He once served as the Minority Chief Whip in parliament prior to the Ghanaian parliamentary election in 2008. In January 2009, he became the Majority Chief Whip in Parliament.
At the beginning of the Fourth Republic, he was appointed Minister for Youth and Sports by President Jerry Rawlings. Mensah held that position through both terms of the Rawlings government. In January 2010, after a cabinet reshuffle, President John Atta Mills appointed him Minister for Employment and Social Welfare.
ET Mensah was a member of the Pan-African Parliament until January 2009, when he resigned after being appointed a member of state.
In January 2011, he was appointed Minister for Education following the resignation of Betty Mould-Iddrisu.
On 12 February 2021, Mensah was unanimously elected as the representative of the Council of State for the Greater Accra Region.