Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, born Nana Barima Kwaku Duah, is the sixteenth Asantehene, keeper of the Golden Stool and president of the Asanteman Council. He bears the name of the empire's founder, Osei Tutu I, and has reigned since 26 April 1999. He is one of the most influential traditional rulers in West Africa.
Early Life and Family
Born on 6 May 1950 in Kumasi, he is the son of Nana Kwame Boakye-Dankwa and of the Asantehemaa Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, of the Oyoko royal house. In the matrilineal Asante system (see Society & Matrilineality), it was his mother, as Queen Mother, who nominated him for the Stool. He has been married since 2002 to Lady Julia Amaning, and the couple have several children.
Education and Career Before the Throne
- Secondary schooling at Sefwi Wiawso Secondary School and then Osei Kyeretwie Secondary School (completed 1969).
- Accounting studies at the Institute of Professional Studies in Accra, then a diploma in management and administration at the Polytechnic of North London.
- A career in insurance in Toronto (1981–1985), then management in the UK, where he founded a financial services firm in London.
- Founder of an engineering and industrial services company in Ghana, Transpomech International.
Enstoolment
After the death of Opoku Ware II in 1999, Nana Barima Kwaku Duah was enstooled Asantehene on 26 April 1999 as Osei Tutu II. In 2024 he marked twenty-five years on the Stool — his silver jubilee — a year also marked by the return of looted regalia (see Legacy & Restitution).
Initiatives and Achievements
- Otumfuo Education Fund (1999): scholarships and financial aid for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries.
- Serwaa Ampem Foundation for children, notably in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation (launched 2009).
- Dagbon mediation (2002–2019): he chaired the committee of eminent chiefs that helped resolve the succession crisis of the Dagbon kingdom in northern Ghana.
- Lake Bosomtwe (2019): an environmental initiative to plant 2.5 million trees over 400 hectares.
- Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital: a renovation project launched in 2023 with a $10 million target.
- Chancellor of KNUST, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Honours
Honorary doctorates from several universities (Polytechnic of North London in 2006, University of Cape Coast in 2024) and several peace and mediation awards, including the Pillar of Peace Award in 2020.
A Twenty-First-Century King
His public priorities — education, health, cultural heritage and the return of looted objects — continue the tradition of a kingdom that has always joined spiritual authority with practical governance. The information above comes from public sources; for palace news, consult the official Manhyia Palace website.