President Mahama (L) with Cecelia Johnson, Former Chairperson, Council of State
Cecilia Johnson, a veteran Ghanaian politician and former Chairperson of the Council of State, has died aged 79.
She passed away on Monday, 22 September 2025, after a short illness.
Details remain limited, but her death has been confirmed by family sources as well as former colleagues who served with her under the administrations of the late Jerry John Rawlings, the late John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama.
Affectionately known as “Auntie Ceci”, Johnson was a towering figure in Ghana’s political landscape for decades.
She was the General Secretary of the 31st December Women’s Movement, a pioneering organisation credited with championing women’s empowerment in the 1980s and 1990s.
She went on to serve as Minister of Local Government and Rural Development under President Rawlings, and later as Chairperson of the Council of State, succeeding the late Prof. Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor under President Mahama’s first administration.
Her tenure cemented her reputation as a principled public servant and an advocate for youth development and women’s participation in governance.
A leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson was widely regarded as part of the party’s “Old Guards”, the generation of leaders who helped shape its transition from military-patterned revolutionary beginnings into a dominant political force.
Her long career in government and civic life earned her recognition as one of Ghana’s most resilient female politicians.
Born in Awua-Domase in the then Brong-Ahafo Region (today’s Bono Region), Johnson was one of 12 children of Joana Bennett, a well-respected matriarch.
Tributes are expected to pour in from across the political divide, with her passing seen as marking the close of a significant chapter in both Ghana’s democratic journey and the history of the NDC.
