Joseph Yieleh Chireh

Joseph Yieleh Chireh is a pharmacist, lawyer and diplomat who served in every NDC-era government from the PNDC to President Mills, as a regional secretary, ambassador and cabinet minister. He represented Wa West in the Upper West Region for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) from 2005 to 2021 and now chairs the Pharmacy Council. He was born on 8 July 1954 at Lassia-Tuolu.

Pharmacist

Chireh attended Navrongo Secondary School and qualified in pharmacy at KNUST in 1979. He was pharmacist-in-charge at Agogo Presbyterian Hospital and superintendent pharmacist at F.K. Ampadu Pharmacy in Accra. Much later, in 2006, he qualified as a lawyer.

PNDC and Rawlings years

He was PNDC Secretary for the Upper West Region from 1983 to 1985 and held other posts at the PNDC Secretariat until 1993. Under President Rawlings he was Upper West Regional Minister from 1993 to 1997, then Ambassador to Algeria, also accredited to Tunisia, Mauritania and the Sahrawi Republic, until 2001.

Mills cabinet

Elected MP for Wa West in 2004, he served under President Mills as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development from 2009 to 2011 and Minister for Health from 2011 to 2012. He was also chairman of FBNBank Ghana from 2014 to 2020 and a member of the Pan-African Parliament. In May 2025 President Mahama appointed him chairman of the governing board of the Pharmacy Council. Peter Lanchene Toobu of the NDC holds Wa West today.