John Kufuor was Deputy Minister of Finance in the 1970s when he addressed the UN
Today, John Agyekum Kufuor is the oldest-living former president of Ghana with a lot of great admiration from both the old and young.
Those sentiments are also from people who still remember the two-term former Head of State as a man who steered Ghana fairly well, particularly as the man who took over from Jerry John Rawlings as president.
His accolades continue to flourish because, even at 86 years, John Kufuor still makes time to show up for people and at public events, much to the delight and respect of many; regardless of whether the events are national or politically-aligned.
But that’s just who the man known as the ‘gentle giant’ has been, even from as far back as the 1970s, during the earlier days of his political life.
In a very rare video of the former president that has emerged online, it shows a period when Kufuor, (only 31 at the time) as Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave a brief address at the UN General Assembly.
In that same year, he led a Ghanaian delegation to Moscow in the Soviet Union, Prague (Czechoslovakia), and Belgrade (Yugoslavia) to discuss Ghana’s indebtedness to these countries, as part of his broader duties in that role.
In that video on TikTok, John Kufuor made an appeal to the two Chinas – the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of China, to work together regarding the permanent UN Security Council Seat.
“… and the two Chinas to come to terms with the reality of the situation. The Permanent Security Council seat should, of course, go to which of the two Chinas commands the attribute of a world power.
“In this case, it is our belief that there can be no quibbling as to the entitlement of the People’s Republic of China,” he said.
During the 1970s, the “two Chinas” referred to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which controlled mainland China, and the Republic of China (ROC), which was based on the island of Taiwan. The international community’s recognition of which government legitimately represented China shifted dramatically during this decade.
Watch the video of the young John Agyekum Kufuor below:
@ayeduase.nkrumah He was Ghana’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, at which time he was 31 years old. His address was reportedly in support of the admission of the People’s Republic of China to the UN #ghanatiktok🇬🇭 #fyp #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #nppghana #ndctiktokers ♬ Emotional Ending (Vocals Only) – Vocal Tunez & Ilyas Mao
AE
