CAREER IN THE CIVIL SERVICE Mrs. Cecilia Johnson was employed in the Ghana Civil Service soon after graduation from the University of Ghana and was posted to the Commercial Department of the Ministry of Trade. She worked at the Ministry’s Accra Office and was briefly attached to the Ghana Trade Fair Authority. Cecilia, attained the rank of Principal Officer and was seconded to the Secretariat of the 31st December Women Movement (DWM). She was later elected as the General Secretary of the Movement, a position she served for many years. In 1993, Cecilia was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Local Government and combined her work as a Deputy Minister and substantive Minister with her duties as General Secretary of DWM. ACTIVITIES AS A GENDER ADVOCATE POLITICAL ACTIVITIES Mrs. Cecilia Johnson is best known in Ghana’s political annals for her role in the activities in the 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM) and in the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Mrs. Johnson’s personal beliefs and convictions in the emancipation of women at every level, formal and informal, were very much at the core of the formation of the Movement on May 15, 1982. From the early beginnings of the Movement and as a core member, she assisted in the formal registration of the Movement with the Registrar General’s Department as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). With her background and extensive knowledge and procedures in the civil service, she ensured that the 31st December Women Movement was duly registered as an NGO with the Department of Social Welfare and the National Council of Women and Development. DWM joined the Ghana Association of Private Voluntary Organisations (GAPVOD) under her watch. Mrs. Johnson articulated the ideals of the Movement at various fora locally, on the African continent, Asia, Europe and the Americas. She travelled extensively espousing the programmes of the movement in Civic Education, Functional Literary Education and Children Education. The establishment of Day Care Centres of the Movement across the country and the promotion of income generation activities are well recorded in the history of the country. In 2009, she was appointed a Member of the Council of State and after the unfortunate demise of Professor Kofi Awoonor in September 2013, she was elected Chairperson of the Council. She is, so far, the only female to have occupied the position. Although her active role in national affairswas considerably slowed down after 2018, she participated as much as she could from a distance. She made sure she was up to date through all traditional and new media channels. She avidly discussed governance and politics over the phone with friends and former colleagues. Mrs. Johnson was hospitalized briefly early September 2025 and barely a week after celebrating her 79th birthday, she passed on to eternity on the morning of Monday, September 22, 2025. Mrs. J, yours was a life well lived. A journey well travelled. A rest well deserved. Dammirifa Due. 1946 MRS. CECILIA JOHNSON 2025 18 A Loving Farewell
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