Betty Nah-Akuyea Mould-Iddrisu, born on 22 March 1953, is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician.
She is the country’s first female attorney general and has pioneered the law.
Betty Mould-Iddrisu received her early education at Ghana International School(GIS) and later attended Achimota School and Accra Academy for her secondary education.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Ghana, Legon, between 1973 and 1976. She later earned a Master’s degree in Law from the London School of Economics in 1978. Mould-Iddrisu returned to the Ghana School of Law and was called to the Ghanaian Bar in 1979.
Mould-Iddrisu has held various positions throughout her career. She served as State Attorney at the Ghanaian Ministry of Justice, eventually becoming Chief State Attorney. She also headed the International Ministry of Justice’s law division and was appointed Ghana’s copyright administrator in 1989.
She is an acknowledged global expert in Intellectual Property Law, representing Ghana and Africa as a speaker,
expert, resource person, chair, and consultant to the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
and other multilateral agencies.
Mould-Iddrisu was sworn in in February 2009 as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Republic of Ghana. She was the first female to be appointed to that role in Ghana but resigned from the government in January 2012.
In 1990, she pioneered the teaching of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) at the University of Ghana’s Faculty
of Law and taught IPR herself for ten years until 2000.
She led the Ministry of Justice’s International Law division and was appointed as the director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs division of the UK-based Commonwealth Secretariat in 2003.
Her work in the international arena
During her time as head of the Ministry of Justice’s International Law division in 1997, Mould-Iddrisu
implemented Ghana’s international legal obligations by handling national and regional responses to global
human rights issues.
She cooperated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ECOWAS, and the African Union in enforcing women’s and children’s rights, establishing human trafficking protocols, and amending cross-border legislation to deal with terrorism.
She also assisted the African Union in ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in Africa. She promoted international humanitarian law in concert with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
A pioneer in Ghanaian law, she was appointed Director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of
the Commonwealth Secretariat in 2003.
She oversaw the implementation of mandates in transnational crime, counter-terrorism, international humanitarian law, anti-corruption, asset recovery, and judicial ethics programmes.
Madam Mould-Iddrisu has advised Heads of State, Ministers, governments, politicians, and civil societies on international law, constitutional law, and human rights.
She led the Secretariat Team of the Electoral Observer Group to the 2006 Ugandan Elections and served as in-house counsel and advisor on various legal issues.
Betty Mould-Iddrisu established Ghana’s first Legal Aid Centre in 1986 and chaired the FIDA-Ghana and FIDA-Africa groups. She fought against gender-based violence and was a leading member of Ghana’s Domestic Violence Coalition.
As Ghana’s first female Attorney General and Minister of Justice, she facilitated international cooperation and advocated for women’s and children’s empowerment. Her impact on governance in Ghana and globally remains significant.
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