Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful is a Ghanaian lawyer, politician, and women's rights advocate who served as Minister of Communications and Digitalisation from 2017 to 2025, one of the longest-serving members of President Akufo-Addo's cabinet. She represented the Ablekuma West Constituency in Accra for the NPP from January 2013 to January 2025. Born on 20 October 1964 in Akim Oda in the Eastern Region, she pursued her legal education at the University of Ghana and then at the Ghana School of Law, where she was called to the Bar in 1990. She later earned a master's degree in Conflict, Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and holds a certificate in Government Integrity from the International Law Institute in Washington DC. Her professional career before government centred on legal consultancy and governance. She served as Managing Consultant with N.U. Consult and as Managing Director of WESTEL, the second national telecommunications operator in Ghana, giving her direct exposure to the telecoms sector before she assumed ministerial responsibility for it. As Communications Minister, Owusu-Ekuful oversaw some of the most consequential digital infrastructure work in Ghana's recent history. She managed a mandatory SIM card re-registration exercise that linked nearly 30 million mobile subscribers to the Ghana Card national identity system, tying biometric data to phone ownership and significantly reducing fraudulent registrations. She also championed the Cybersecurity Act and oversaw the establishment of the Cyber Security Authority, giving Ghana a formal institutional framework for managing digital threats. Broader digitisation of government services and e-government platform rollouts formed part of her portfolio throughout her tenure. Owusu-Ekuful has been a vocal advocate for women's participation in politics and technology. She holds membership of the Broadband Commission and represented Ghana in international telecommunications bodies including the ITU. Although she left parliament in January 2025, her record in communications policy, particularly around the SIM registration exercise, continued to be debated publicly long after her departure.

Frequently asked questions about Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

What is Ursula Owusu-Ekuful known for?

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful is a Lawyer, former Minister of Communications.

What is Ursula Owusu-Ekuful's nationality?

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful is Ghanaian.