Mrs Theresa Kufuor, a former first lady in the Fourth Republic of Ghana, has reportedly died, aged 87. Credible sources from the family and the presidency confirmed her demise to the Ghana News Agency on Sunday evening. She died around 1600 hours, the sources said. She has predeceased her husband, John Agyekum Kufuor, the second President of the Fourth Republic, with whom she had five children. Mrs Kufuor, admired by many as a quiet exquisite lady, was seen as a strong pillar behind her husband's successful political career and presidency from 2001-2008. She founded the Mother and Child Community Development Foundation (MCCDF) and awarded the Papal Award Dame of St Gregory the Great for her commitment to the plight of poor children and their mothers by the Catholic Church. Mrs Kufuor married the Former President when he was 23 after they met at a Republic Day Anniversary Dance in London in 1961 and got married in 1962. She was born on 25 October 1935 and was a devout Catholic. Mrs. Kufuor lived most of her working life in the United Kingdom after studying at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford and Paddington General Hospital, London, and qualifying as a State Certified Midwife with a Certificate in Premature Nursing. Before marrying President Kufour, she was known as Theresa Mensah and was the last born to her parents. Her elder brother was the late NPP stalwart, J.H. Mensah. Mrs Kufuor started her education at the Catholic Convent in Keta in the Volta Region. In 2007, she pushed for policy changes in the Government's white paper on Educational Reforms toward the implementation of UNESCO's Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme.

Source: Ghana News Agency