Graduates of Queen’s Law are renowned for taking on interesting challenges around the globe. This summer in Ghana, a Master’s graduate from Queen’s is blazing new trails in government and doing her part to change the face of democracy in the nation.

Charlotte Osei (LLM’95), was sworn in as the head of the Electoral Commission of Ghana on June 30, by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama in a ceremony held in the capital city of Accra.

The scope of her duties as chairperson includes supervising every public election and referenda, demarcating electoral boundaries and declaring the winner of presidential elections. As the first female Electoral Commissioner, Ms. Osei has been lauded for her abilities and dedication to the public service.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Osei was the chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education. Before taking a position in the civil service, she was the founder and lead counsel of Prime Attorneys, a leading law firm in Accra. She was also a senior legal officer for the GCB and company secretary/legal adviser for Unibank Ghana Limited. As a lawyer she has worked in the areas of public service management, institutional reform, corporate law, banking, insurance, project financing and public-private partnerships and employment.

While at Queen’s Law, Osei was supervised by Professor Rosemary King – also from Ghana – and wrote her thesis entitled: “Reclaiming Ourselves”: Re-examining the status of Ghanaian Women Under Customary Law.

Ms. Osei’s other degrees are a Master’s in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa, Pretoria and an LLB (Hons) from the University of Ghana in 1992. She was called to the bar in 1994.

This article first ran on the Faculty of Law’s website.