The first person in his family to qualify as a lawyer, he was registered as Raphael Nii Amaa Ollennu in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) register in 1940.[8][9] He later became a puisne judge in 1955, rising through the ranks of the Ghanaian judiciary to become a High Court judge and on 1 September 1962, elevated to a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.[8][10] He also published books on various legal topics and was an authority on traditional African land-tenure system. He was also an Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Ghana.[11] He was also actively involved with the General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.[12] He served as the President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences from 1969 to 1972.[13]
During the second republic, Ollennu was the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana from October 1969 to January 1972. He also became the acting president of Ghana on 7 August 1970. He was officially the chairman of the Presidential Commission. He took over from the previous military leader, Lt. Gen. Afrifa and handed over on 31 August 1970 to Edward Akufo-Addo who was elected on 31 August 1970 by an electoral college.[17] He polled 123 votes to 35 by Edward Asafu Adjaye. This was a ceremonial presidency as executive power was held by the prime minister, Kofi Abrefa Busia. During the Second Republic of Ghana, Ollennu served as Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana.[citation needed]
Personal life
Nii Amaa Ollennu married four times.[18] His first wife was Emily Jiagge of Keta in the Volta Region whose grandfather was Togbui Tamakloe, Chief of Uti. He had two children with her: Amerley Ollennu and Boni-Ashitey Ollennu, a barrister in London. He then married Charlotte Amy Sawyerr (née Mettle), the daughter of the Rev. John Josiah Mettle and Mrs. Marian Anohuma Mettle (née Harvey). They had two children together: Noni-Ashitey (Fio) and Ashitei. Mettle had five other children from another marriage. She died in 2016, aged 103 years. One of his wives was Nana Afua Frema Busia, the Queenmother of Wenchi and a sister to Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, Prime Minister of Ghana. A daughter of Justice Nii Amaa Ollennu and Nana Afua Frema Busia, Amerley Ollennu Awua-Asamoa, served as Ghana's Ambassador to Denmark from 2017 to 2021.[19] Ollennu was a member of the District Grand Lodge of Ghana and a founding member of the Legon Lodge.[20]
Ollennu, Nii Amaa (1962). Principles of Customary Land Law in Ghana. Law in Africa Volume 2. London: Sweet and Maxwell. OCLC877770.
Humphrey, J.; Fiseer, N. A.; Ollennu, Nii Amaa (1966). The Law of Testate and Intestate Succession in Ghana. Law in Africa Volume 16. London: Sweet and Maxwell. B0000CN89R.
Ollennu, Nii Amaa; Gordon R. Woodman (1985). Ollennu's Principles of Customary Land Law in Ghana (2nd ed.). Birmingham: CAL Press. ISBN978-0-9510530-0-3.
^Archives, The National. "The Discovery Service". Discovery Nationalarchives United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
^"Proceedings". The official record of the 20th general council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the 11th assembly of the International Congregational Council held in Nairobi, Kenya, during the period 20–30 August 1970. The World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Dr Pradervand announced that greetings had been received, through the high commissioner of Ghana, from the Hon Justice Nii Amaa Ollennu, who was unable to attend the council because of his responsibilities in the Ghanaian government.
^"Personality Talk". Official Website. The Hawa Foundation and Organization. Archived from the original on 2 May 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Mrs. Amerley Awua Asamoa"...."My father was the late Justice Nii Amaa Ollennu (a renowned Jurist and Speaker of Parliament, 2nd Republic of Ghana). My mother is Nana Afua Frema, former Queen-mother of Wenchi and direct sister of the late Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia (Prime Minister of the 2nd Republic).
