About Speaker
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs.
He is a four-term Ghanaian legislator representing the good people of North Tongu in the Volta Region.
He served as the Deputy Minister for Information under President John Evans Atta Mills from 2009 - 2013 and Deputy Minister for Education from 2013 - 2017 during President John Mahama’s first term. He holds an MSc in Defence and International Politics from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, an MA in Communications and Public Relations from the University of Leicester, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ghana, an LLB from the University of London and a Certificate in Leadership from Havard University.
He is a product of PRESEC, Legon and Association International School.
Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa has had an illustrious public service career spanning some two decades. He has a reputation for being a strong advocate for ethical, transparent and transformational leadership. For nearly eight years, between 2017 and 2024, he served as Ranking Member of the parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. He rose to become the first Chairman of the reformed Assurances Committee.
Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa is the recipient of numerous awards including an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the AMET University in India, being adjudged the Most Impactful MP in 2024, Medal of Honour from the Ghana Medical Association, Special Award from the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, citation from the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation and making it to the list of the 2025 Most Influential 100 Africans.
He is a prolific Author, former President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), member of the Parliamentarians for Global Action, accredited member of the Institute for Public Relations (APR), member of the African Leadership Network, Fellow of the African Youth Governance Convergence, member of the American Council for Young Political Leaders and former Chairman of the Ghana-Cuba Parliamentary Friendship Association.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was appointed Chairman of Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) by President Mahama.
As Cabinet Minister, he additionally serves on the National Security Council, the Ghana Armed Forces Council and the Governing Council of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.
He successfully served as Chairman of the African Union Ministerial Working Committee on Agenda 2063.
Speaker
Steve Clemons’ Talk Show with Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Ghana under President Mahama has made reparatory justice a central plank of its foreign policy, tabling a landmark UN resolution calling for formal recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity, with a decade of action to follow. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who drove that agenda from parliament before taking the foreign affairs portfolio in 2025, is one of Africa's most vocal advocates for rewriting the rules of international accountability. This is a conversation about what African diplomatic ambition looks like when it moves from rhetoric to resolution.
Livestream Link: https://youtube.com/live/QHUVlnFJ9kM?feature=share
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Steve Clemons’ Talk Show
Saturday, 23. 5. 2026
10:15–10:40 CEST
Albright Stage
