THE AMBASSADOR

Hajia Alima Mahama was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to the
United States of America in June, 2021. She is a product of the Ghana Law School
and was called to the bar in 1982. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in
Development Studies with a specialization in Regional Development Planning from

the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague in The Netherlands.
Ambassador Mahama is a Humphrey Fellow and participated in a Post Graduate
Studies with Institutional attachments in Urban Policy and Planning and Women

Studies under Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at Rutgers University. She
was also affiliated to the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, the Center for
American Women and Politics (CAWP) and pursued a three-month attachment at
the World Bank.
She is a recipient of a Pearson Fellowship Award, sponsored by the Government of Canada and administered by
University of Ottawa, Carleton University and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The program
focused on Development Administration and Management.
Prior to her appointment to The United States, Ambassador Mahama served as a Member of Parliament and Minister
for Local Government and Rural Development from 2017 to 2021. She was also a member of Parliament and Minister
of Women and Children’s Affairs from 2005 to 2009.

Her passion for gender equality and, development and growth of children has been evident throughout her career
and more especially in her contribution to the passage of the Domestic Violence Act and the Human Trafficking Act,
as well as ratification of related conventions at the level of the African Union and the United Nations. She was also
influential in changes in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Law to improve maternal health and more.
As Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, she was instrumental in the formulation of the National
Decentralization Policy and Strategy (2020-2040), developed to foster quality service delivery through a decentralized
local governance system and active citizen’s participation to facilitate economic growth, income generation and
poverty alleviation.

Other initiatives to her credit include the formulation of the Local Economic Development Policy and Action Plan, the
Rural Development Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan and the passage of the new Births and Deaths
Registration Act, which paved the way for the decentralization and digitization of the Births and Deaths Registry.
Ambassador Mahama served as Senior Technical Advisor for the program for the Attainment of MDG3 in Liberia
(2009-2011), a program supported by the Government of Denmark to promote gender equality and women
empowerment. From 1987 to 2001, she served as the Senior Planner and Gender Development Coordinator of the
Northern Region Rural Integrated Program (NORRIP), a Ghana Government and Canadian International Development
Agency initiative.

Throughout her career, Hajia has held many prominent roles including serving as Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Trade
and Industry, a Consultant for IFAD (SRDP & LACOSREP) OXFAM, and Action Aid Ghana.