Lawrence Rosario Abavana

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Lawrence Abavana

|image = File:Lawrence_Rosario_Abavana,_a_Ghanaian_politician.jpg

|image_size =

|caption =

|constituency_MP = Navrongo

|parliament = Ghana

|majority =

|term_start = 1965

|term_end = 1966

|predecessor = New

|successor = Joseph Evarisi Seyire

|constituency_MP1 = Kassena-Nankana South

|parliament1 = Ghana

|majority1 =

|term_start1 = 1951

|term_end1 = 1965

|predecessor1 = New

|successor1 = Constituency abolished

|order 2 =

|office2 = Minister for Mines and Mineral Resources

|term_start2 = February 1965

|term_end2 = June 1965

|president2 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor2 =

|successor2 =

|office3 =
Minister for Interior

|term_start3 = May 1964

|term_end3 = February 1965

|president3 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor3 = Kwaku Boateng

|successor3 =

|constituency3 =

|term_start4 = June 1965

|term_end4 = February 1966

|president4 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor4 =

|successor4 = John Willie Kofi Harlley

|constituency4 =

|office5 = Minister for Information and Broadcasting

|term_start5 = September 1962

|term_end5 = October 1963

|president5 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor5 =

|successor5 =

|office6 = Minister for Trade

|term_start6 = May 1961

|term_end6 = August 1961

|president6 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor6 = Ferdinand Koblavi Dra Goka

|successor6 = Ferdinand Koblavi Dra Goka (ministry was merged with the Ministry of Finance)

|office7 =
Minister for Health

|term_start7 = July 1960

|term_end7 = May 1961

|president7 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor7 =

|successor7 = Komla Agbeli Gbedemah

|term_start8 = October 1963

|term_end8 = January 1964

|president8 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor8 =

|successor8 =

|office9 = Commissioner of Northern Ghana

|term_start9 = 4 November 1957

|term_end9 = July 1960

|president9 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor9 =

|successor9 =

|office10 =
Minister for Agriculture

|term_start10 = 1957

|term_end10 = 4 November 1957

|president10 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor10 =

|successor10 =

|majority10 =

|term_start11 = October 1961

|term_end11 = September 1962

|president11 = Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

|predecessor11 = Kojo Botsio

|successor11 = Krobo Edusei

|majority11 =

|birth_name = Lawrence Rosario Abavana

|birth_date = 1920

|birth_place = Navrongo, Gold Coast

|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2004|05|29|1920}}

|death_place =

|citizenship = Ghanaian

|alma_mater = Achimota College

}}

Lawrence Rosario Abavana (1920 – 29 May 2004) was a Ghanaian politician{{Cite web|last=Assembly|first=Gold Coast Legislative|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sn6aAAAAIAAJ&q=lawrence+abavana&pg=PA1|title=Debates|date=1956|language=en}} and teacher by profession. He served in various ministerial portfolios in the first republic and also served as a member of the council of state in the third republic.Ghanaweb,[https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/State-burial-for-Abavana-on-July-3-at-Navrongo-60331 "State burial for Abavana on July 3 at Navrongo"], Ghanaweb.com, 23 June 2004. He was a member of the Convention People's Party (CPP).{{Cite book|last=Packham|first=Eric S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DqKmCLJFoOQC&q=lawrence+abavana&pg=PA140|title=Africa in War and Peace|date=2001|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-56072-939-6|language=en}}

Early life and education

Abavana was born in 1920 at Navrongo.

He had his early education at the Roman Catholic School in Navrongo. He continued at Achimota College where he was trained as a teacher.{{cite news |title=Ghana Year Book |newspaper=Daily Graphic |page=192 |date=1966}}{{cite book |title=The New Ghana, Volume 7 |publisher=Ghana Information Services Department |page=93 |date=1962}}{{cite news |title=Ghana Year Book |newspaper=Daily Graphic |page=118 |date=1956}}

Politics

= Member of parliament =

He was elected as a member of the legislative assembly in 1951 representing Kassena-Nankana South under the ticket of the Convention People's Party (CPP) that same year, he was appointed ministerial secretary to the minister of communication and works. In 1954, he defeated J. E. Seyire of the Northern People's Party by 5,795 to 3,344 to retain his seat as a member of the legislative assembly.Michael Eli Dokosi,[https://www.blakkpepper.com/2018/06/the-electoral-victories-and-shock-losses-of-the-1954-gold-coast-election/ "The electoral victories and shock losses of the 1954 Gold Coast election"], blakkpepper.com, 10 June 2018.

= Ministerial secretary =

In 1951, along with winning the Kassena-Nankana South seat under the ticket of the CPP, was appointed as ministerial secretary to the minister of communication and works. He became ministerial secretary to the minister of agriculture that same year of 1951.{{cite work |title=Debates |publisher=Gold Coast. Legislative Assembly |page=119 |date=1956}}

= Minister of State =

In 1956, he was appointed minister without portfolio.{{cite book |last=Rathbone |first=Richard |date=2000 |title=Nkrumah & the Chiefs: The Politics of Chieftaincy in Ghana, 1951-60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDBclHlDsu8C&q=Nkrumah+%26+the+Chiefs:+The+Politics+of+Chieftaincy+in+Ghana |page=xv|publisher=Ohio State University Press |isbn=9780821413067 }} A year later, he was given a portfolio – agriculture.{{cite work |title=Ghana Today, Volumes 1-2 |publisher=Information Section, Ghana Office |page=98 |date=1957}} As Minister for Agriculture, he led the Ghana delegation to a cocoa conference in September 1957. On 4 November 1957, he was appointed regional commissioner for Northern Ghana (this included the Northern Region the Upper East Region and the Upper West Region),{{cite book |last=Packham |first=E. S |date=2004 |title=Africa in War and Peace |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DqKmCLJFoOQC&q=Africa+in+War+and+Peace |page=181|publisher=Nova Publishers |isbn=9781560729396 }} and, in July 1960, he was appointed Minister for Health.{{cite web |title=WORKING HONEYMOON IN AFRICA |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=deBupr5jEw4C&q=abavana+health&pg=PA47 |magazine=Ebony |volume=16 |issue=5 |date = March 1961|location=USA |publisher=Johnson Publishing Company |page=47 |access-date=29 January 2019}}

In May 1961, he was appointed Minister for Trade;{{cite work|title=Commonwealth Survey, Volume 7 |publisher=H.M.S.O. |page=1007 |date=1961}} as the Minister for Trade he led the Ghana delegation to Dahomey in August 1961. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture for the second time in October that same year,{{cite work|title=The Ghana Farmer, Volume 6, Issue 1 |publisher=Department of Agriculture |page=42 |date=1962}} and in September 1962, he was appointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting.{{cite work|title=Africa Diary, Volume 3 |publisher=Africa Publications (India) |page=994 |date=1963}} As information minister, he led the Ghana delegation to the Conference of Information Ministers from Commonwealth African Countries, London in July 1963. He served as Minister for Health for a second occasion from October 1963 to January 1964.{{Cite web|last=Agency|first=United States Central Intelligence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1hlWqVNlP8C&q=lawrence+abavana&pg=RA5-PA26-IA1|title=Daily Report, Foreign Radio Broadcasts|date=1963|language=en}} As Minister for Health, he led the Ghana delegation to the Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Conference held in Alexandria, United Arab Republic (UAR) in January 1964. He led another delegation in March 1964 to the World Health Assembly, Geneva.

In May 1964, he was appointed Minister for Interior,{{cite book|title=Executive Instruments |publisher=Ghana Publishing Company |page=106 |date=1964}} and in February 1965, Minister for Mines and Mineral Resources.{{cite book|title=West Africa |publisher=West Africa Publishing Company, Limited |page=127 |date=1965}} On 11 June 1965, he was reappointed as Minister for Interior.{{cite book |title=Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Parts 1-2 |publisher=Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd |page=762 |date=1967}} He served in that capacity until the Nkrumah government was overthrown in 1966.

= Member of council of State =

He was appointed a member of Council of state in the third republic by Hilla Limann which lasted from 1979 to 1981, until Hilla Limann was deposed in a coup by Jerry John Rawlings on 31 December 1981.{{cite book |title=West Africa, Issues 3336-3360 |publisher=West Africa Publishing Company Limited |page=1902 |date=1981}}

Personal life

Abavana was a Roman Catholic and he served as the president of the Retired Catholic Workers Association from 1992 until his death.

Death

Abavana died at the age of 84 on 29 May 2004. He was given a state burial in his hometown in Navrongo, Upper East Region on 3 July 2004.

Memorials and legacy

Streets, roads, crescents and junctions have been named in honour of him, most popular amongst them are ones within the Accra Metropolitan specifically in Kotobabi and Maamobi.{{Cite web|title=Abavana Street, Accra Metropolitan|url=https://www.cartogiraffe.com/ghana/greater+accra+region/accra+metropolitan/abavana+street/|access-date=2020-12-28|website=cartogiraffe.com}}{{Cite web|title=Abavana - ghana-streets.openalfa.com/streets|url=https://ghana-streets.openalfa.com/streets|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-12-28|website=ghana-streets.openalfa.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=UDS Navrongo Campus Should Be Renamed After Lawrence Rosario Abavana And Not C.K. Tedam|url=https://www.modernghana.com/news/941978/uds-navrongo-campus-should-be-renamed-after-lawren.html|access-date=2020-12-28|website=Modern Ghana|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Abavana Maamobi - Google Search|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=Abavana+Maamobi|access-date=2020-12-28|website=google.com}} There are schools within Accra and Northern which have structures named in honour of him, most notable amongst them is the Abavana Cluster of Schools, a basic school in Kotobabi within the Accra Metropolitan area.{{Cite web|date=2019-12-19|title=Ayawaso Central bags GH₵881,316 revenue in 9 months|url=https://www.ghanaiantimes.com.gh/ayawaso-central-bags-gh₵881316-revenue-in-9-months/|access-date=2020-12-28|website=Ghanaian Times|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Dogbevi|first=Emmanuel|date=2012-01-30|title=USAID grants Ghana $2.3m for construction of basic school complexes in Accra|url=https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2012/01/30/usaid-grants-ghana-2-3m-for-construction-of-basic-school-complexes-in-accra/|access-date=2020-12-28|website=Ghana Business News|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2020-02-13|title=Abavana Schools Get Waste Bins|url=https://dailyguidenetwork.com/abavana-schools-get-waste-bins/|access-date=2020-12-28|website=DailyGuide Network|language=en-US}}