Mary Chinery-Hesse was honoured along with three others
Their recognition was based on their contributions to public service and the University
The University of London on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, decorated four personalities with its highest honour in recognition of their “substantial contributions to public life and the University in different ways.”
Among the four honourary degree recipients was Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse, the Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon.
“The honourary degrees were presented by the University’s Chancellor, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, at the University of London’s Foundation Day.
“This year’s evening ceremony, which took place in Bloomsbury’s Senate House, marked the 185th anniversary of the creation of the University of London by Royal Charter on 28 November 1836,” a statement on their website wrote.
Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse was duly elected as Chancellor of the University of Ghana and subsequently inducted into office on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, at a Special Congregation of the University held in the Great Hall.
The Chancellor is one of the three Principal Officers of the University; the two are the Chairperson of the University Council and the Vice-Chancellor.
The Chancellor is the head of the University and takes precedence over the other officers of the University.
The three other honourees were: George Mpanga (George the Poet), Margaret MacMillan, Joanna David.
Chinery-Hesse is a graduate in Sociology and Economics from UG, in 1991 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by the University becoming the first female product to be so honoured.
She undertook her postgraduate studies at the University of Dublin and the World Bank Institute in Washington DC both in Development Economics.
What the University of London wrote about Madam Chinery-Hesse
Mary Chinery-Hesse has had distinguished careers in Ghana’s Civil Service and at the United Nations.
She is an important voice on economic development issues, a defender of human and women’s rights, and an advocate for African imperatives.
She was the first African woman to be appointed Resident Coordinator of the UN System, the first African woman to attain the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and is the first female Chancellor of the University of Ghana.
Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Mary Chinery-Hesse