Albert Kwadwo Adu Boahen

He was born on 24 May 1932

Boahen's academic influence extended to politics when he gave a public lecture on Ghana's history from 1972 to 1987, breaking President Jerry Rawlings' "culture of silence." These lectures were later published as "The Ghanaian Sphinx" in 1998.

In 1990, he co-founded the Movement for Freedom and Justice, and later ran as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) nominee in the 1992 presidential election, where he lost to Jerry Rawlings. Boahen received 30.4% of the vote and boycotted the 1992 parliamentary election. In the 1996 presidential election, John Kufuor ran for the NPP, and in 1998, Boahen attempted to return as the NPP's presidential nominee but was not chosen. Ultimately, Kufuor won the 2000 presidential election.

Boahen, a member of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, was posthumously honored with a state funeral, the Order of the Star of Ghana, and the Avicenna Silver Medal from UNESCO. He passed away on his 74th birthday in 2006 and was survived by his wife, Mary Adu Boahen, and five children. His son, Charles Adu Boahen, held a government position in 2017 but was later removed due to corruption allegations.