Opoku Ware II

Otumfuo Opoku Ware II was the 15th Asantehene, king of the Asante, from 27 July 1970 until his death on 26 February 1999. Before taking the Golden Stool he was a surveyor, a barrister and a member of the national government.

Early life

He was born Jacob Matthew Poku on 30 November 1919 in Kumasi into the Asante royal family; his uncle was the Asantehene Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II. After an Anglican school he attended Adisadel College in Cape Coast. He worked as a building inspector with the Public Works Department from 1937 to 1943, then trained as a surveyor and worked on the Kumasi Traditional Council Hall and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Lawyer and commissioner

In the 1950s he went to Britain to study law at the Middle Temple and was called to the bar in 1962. He practised in Accra and then set up his own firm in Kumasi. In 1968 the National Liberation Council appointed him Commissioner for Communications, and in 1970 he was named ambassador to Italy.

Asantehene

Before he could take up the embassy, Prempeh II died, and he was chosen to succeed him, taking the stool name Opoku Ware II. He concentrated on Asante customary justice rather than national politics, rarely appeared in public, and kept working relations with successive governments, including those of Ignatius Acheampong and Jerry Rawlings. In 1985 he created the Nkosuo (development) stool, which led to the now common practice of making notable people development chiefs and queens. He celebrated his silver jubilee in August 1995.

Death

He died on 26 February 1999 after a reign of 29 years, and was succeeded by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.