Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II

Prempeh II (Otumfuo Nana Sir Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II, KBE, c.1892 – 27 May 1970),[1][2]was the 14th Asantehene, or king of the Ashanti (Ruler of the Asante), reigning from 22 June 1931 to 27 May 1970.

Otumfuo The Asantehene Nana Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II. KBE
Asantehene of Asanteman; Kumasehene of Kumasi
Prempeh II
King of the Asante Kingdom
Reign22 June 1931 – 27 May 1970
Coronation22 June 1931
PredecessorPrempeh I
SuccessorOpoku Ware II
Bornc.1892
Kumasi, Kingdom of Ashanti
Died27 May 1970(1970-05-27) (aged 77–78)
Kumasi, Ghana
Full name
Otumfuo The Asantehene Nana Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, KBE
HouseBretuo Dynasty

Biography

Asantehene Prempeh II of the Ashanti was born in 1892 in the capital Kumasi. He was four years old when his uncle, Prempeh I (the 13th Asantehene), his maternal grandmother, queen Nana Yaa Akyaa, and other family members were captured and exiled to the Seychelles Islands by the British in 1896.[3] Prempeh I returned from exile in 1924 and died in May 1931, and Otumfuo Prempeh II was subsequently elected as his successor; however, he was elected as merely Kumasihene rather than Asantehene.[3] In 1935, after strenuous efforts on his part, the colonial authorities allowed Prempeh II to assume the title of Asantehene.

In 1949 Prempeh II was instrumental in founding Prempeh College, a prestigious all-boys boarding school in Kumasi, Ashanti.[4] He also gave a large tract of land for the construction of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), which in 1969 awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Science. In October 1969 he was elected as the first President of the National House of Chiefs, and shortly thereafter was appointed to the Council of State.[5]

See also

References

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