Why Akufo-Addo began his law career in France

• President Akufo-Addo says he started his career in France

• He said it was during the last year of Georges Pompidou’s presidency

• He stressed that he got exposed to the French civilisation

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he began his law career as a young man in France during the last year of Georges Pompidou’s presidency.

He explained, as a Ghanaian who had his further education in England, it was appropriate for him to have had his professional career experience in another European country, and France was the best for him.

President Akufo-Addo told the French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Avé in an interview monitored by GhanaWeb: “I lived and worked in France for five years as a young man. I went to France in the 1970s, in the last year of Georges Pompidou’s presidency.”

He added: “As a Ghanaian who’s educated in England, all the exposure and experience was English related so, I thought I should have experience of another European civilisation before finally coming back to Ghana.”

He added that even though it was a choice for him as a person, he thought “that experience will be good and France made a lot of sense to me because Ghana’s neighbours are French-speaking countries.”

President Nana Akufo-Addo stated that even though at the time he was moving from England to France, his dad, Edward Akufo-Addo was the Head of State, another reason that made his decision firm was because he “wanted to escape home”.

He disclosed that as a student in London, he frequently visited France on holidays and so it was right for him to have started his law career in that country.

“I began [my law career] in France. It was an extraordinary experience for me because the law firm was the main law firm for the major American companies that were doing business in France and in Europe.

So, you found that the big American multinational companies were clients of Coudert Brothers LLP and it gave me a big insight into how those corporations work…If you are going to work in France, you need to have a clear understanding of French Corporate Law, you have to interact with French lawyers…”, he said.