Mark Woyongo

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = Hon.

| name = Mark Owen Woyongo

| honorific-suffix =

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| constituency_MP = Navrongo Central

| parliament = Ghana

| majority = 2,464

| term_start = 7 January 2013

| term_end = 2017

| predecessor = Joseph Kofi Adda

| successor =

| order2 =

| office2 = Upper East Region Minister

| term_start2 = 2009

| term_end2 = 2014

| president2 = John Atta Mills

| predecessor2 = Alhassan Samari

| successor2 = Ephraim Avea Nsoh

| order3 =

| office3 = Minister for Defence

| term_start3 = 2013

| term_end3 = 2014

| president3 = John Dramani Mahama

| predecessor3 = Joseph Henry Smith

| successor3 = Benjamin Kunbuor

| order4 =

| office4 = Minister for the Interior

| term_start4 = 16 July 2014

| term_end4 = 7 January 2017

| president4 = John Dramani Mahama

| predecessor4 = Kwesi Ahwoi

| successor4 = Ambrose Dery

| prior_term =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1946|6|9}}

| birth_place = Bolgatanga, Northern Territories

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2024|1|17|1946|6|9}}

| death_place = Accra, Ghana

| restingplace =

| restingplacecoordinates =

| birthname =

| citizenship =

| nationality = Ghanaian

| party = National Democratic Congress

| otherparty =

| spouse =

| partner =

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater =

| occupation =

| profession =

| cabinet =

| committees =

| portfolio =

| religion =

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Mark Owen Woyongo (9 June 1946 – 17 January 2024) was a Ghanaian politician who served as the Ghanaian Minister for the Interior for the Ghanaian Ministry of the Interior. He was also the Member of Parliament for the Navrongo Central constituency in Ghana.

Woyongo first stood for election on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress in the 2008 Ghanaian parliamentary election, winning 41.7% of the votes and losing to Joseph Kofi Adda of the New Patriotic Party by 1,130 votes (3.5%).{{cite web |title=Parliamentary Results Navrongo-Central (Upper East) |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/election2008/parliament.constituency.php?ID=268 |accessdate=23 January 2013 |publisher=GhanaWeb}} He was however appointed the Upper East Regional Minister by President Mills in his government in 2009. He was retained in this position by President Mahama following the death of Mills. In 2013, he was nominated by President Mahama for the position of Minister for Defence.{{cite web |title=Mahama appoints more ministers: Haruna for Trade |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=262685 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123194736/http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=262685 |archive-date=23 January 2013 |accessdate=23 January 2013 |work=GhanaWeb |publisher=}}

Early life and education

Woyongo was born on 9 June 1946 in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region of Ghana. He attended Notre Dame Secondary School in Navrongo in 1966. He completed a Diploma in Journalism from Ghana Institute of Journalism in 1971. He undertook professional courses in Ghana and abroad.{{Cite web |title=Profile of Hon. Mark Owen Woyongo |url=https://www.mint.gov.gh/profile-of-hon-mark-owen-woyongo/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=Ministry of the Interior│Republic of Ghana |language=en-GB}}

Political career

Mark Owen Woyongo was the Public Relations Officer for the Upper East Regional Administration from 1978 and 1985. He was appointed the Regional Information Officer, Upper East Region in 1985. In 1994, he was appointed the Minister Counselor for Information at the Ghana High Commission in London, United Kingdom. Mark Woyongo was the Minister for the Upper East Region from 2009 to 2012.{{Cite web |title=Profile of Hon. Mark Owen Woyongo |url=https://www.mint.gov.gh/profile-of-hon-mark-owen-woyongo/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=Ministry of the Interior│Republic of Ghana |language=en-GB}} He survived a fatal accident when returning from the NDC congress held in the Upper East region.{{Cite web |title=Mark Woyongo survives near fatal crash |url=https://ghanaguardian.com/mark-woyongo-survives-near-fatal-crash |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=The Ghana Guardian News |language=en}}

Woyongo won the 2012 parliamentary elections on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). In 2013, he was appointed Defence Minister and subsequently to the Ministry of the Interior during his tenure as Upper East Regional Minister.{{Cite web |title=Profile of Hon. Mark Owen Woyongo |url=https://www.mint.gov.gh/profile-of-hon-mark-owen-woyongo/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=Ministry of the Interior│Republic of Ghana |language=en-GB}}

Personal life and death

Mark Woyongo was married and had two children.{{Cite web |title=Profile of Hon. Mark Owen Woyongo |url=https://www.mint.gov.gh/profile-of-hon-mark-owen-woyongo/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=Ministry of the Interior│Republic of Ghana |language=en-GB}} He died on 17 January 2024, at the age of 77.{{Cite web |date=18 January 2024 |title=Mark Woyongo is reportedly dead |url=https://www.ghanaweb.live/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/BREAKING-Mark-Woyongo-is-reportedly-dead-1912703 |access-date=18 January 2024 |website=GhanaWeb |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=18 January 2024 |title=Former Defence Minister Mark Woyongo dead |url=https://citinewsroom.com/2024/01/former-defence-minister-mark-woyongo-dead/ |access-date=18 January 2024 |website=Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=18 January 2024 |title=Former Interior Minister Mark Woyongo passes on - MyJoyOnline |url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/former-interior-minister-mark-woyongo-passes-on/ |access-date=18 January 2024 |website=www.myjoyonline.com |language=en-US}}