Queen Elizabeth Reign brought Exceptional Bond between Ghana and UK- Speaker Bagbin
Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt Hon Alban Bagbin has paid glowing tribute to late Queen Elizabeth II, describing her as a ‘purposeful unifying Queen.
According to the Speaker, the late Queen firsts and many other shared historical encounters in Ghana in the pre and post-Independent era of Ghana has,” forged an exceptional bond between Ghana and the UK during the long reign of Queen Elizabeth 11.”
Rt Hon Bagbin made these remarks in a message of tribute to the late Queen of the UK who died on September 8, 2022
The Speaker added that, recent events where he and the Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu were both elected as President and Vice-Chairmanship of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) respectively at its 65th Conference in Halifax, Canada has further reinforced this relationship.
Full Statement
MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCE By RT. HON. ALBAN SUMANA KINGSFORD BAGBIN (Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana)
To the ROYAL FAMILY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM On the death of HER ROYAL MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II
It is with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that I extend this Message of Condolence to King Charles III, the Royal Family of the United Kingdom, the Fourteen Realms, and the Commonwealth of Nations, on the transition of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the Fourteen Realms and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Glorious Home Call of Her Majesty at the ripe age of ninety-six years marks the end of an eventful chapter of human history.
It was a seven-decade-long era of calm but courageous and impactful influence on global affairs that spanned the difficult post-World War II years, the rise of new nations in Africa and Asia, the birth of the Commonwealth, the onset of the Cold War and its thawing into a new global geopolitical dispensation, which, in the last years of her reign, was unsettled by threats hitherto unforeseen.
From the moment Her Majesty descended from the Treetops Hotel in Central Kenya to ascend to the throne on the passing of her late father, King George VI in 1952, to paying those historic visits of a British monarch to China and post-war Germany, Queen Elizabeth purposively blurred the lines of ideological, class and racial distinctions.
The most unifying of such moves was the global attention-grabbing and inspirational steps as the first British monarch to obliterate the colour-line by dancing with a black man at a public event.
After blazing the trail as her first colony south of the Sahara to attain independence, Ghana again chalked that significant first when our first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, did the foxtrot with the Queen at a State Banquet in Accra, during her Royal Visit of 1961.
These firsts and many other shared historical encounters, forged an exceptional bond between Ghana and the UK during the long reign of Queen Elizabeth 11.
Recent events this year, such as the election of the Speaker and the Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament to both the Presidency and Vice-Chairmanship of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) respectively at its 65th Conference in Halifax, Canada, just a few weeks ago, further reinforced this relationship.
As I assume my responsibilities at the helm of the CPA, an epic moment coinciding with the sad departure of Queen Elizabeth II – the only second Head of the Commonwealth I have known since its inauguration seventy-three years ago – I am very mindful of the tasks that lie ahead.
Even as we welcome King Charles III, we pay this tribute to Her Majesty the Queen, for her diverse roles as Head and Sovereign. She will be forever remembered for that gentle but influential hand that rocked the cradle, effortlessly binding and keeping the Commonwealth – and indeed, the world – together with her celebrated “soft power.”
She lived up to her pledge in South Africa in 1949 as a visiting Princess where she said, “I declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great […] family to which we all belong.”
For, as is well-established, the greatest leaders are the ones who, after inspiring and empowering their followers to win, fade into the background, as the people exult and take all the credit, and pat themselves for having achieved all by themselves.
We recognize the departed Queen’s selfless and self-effacing role as 1 pay this tribute, and I do so in solemnity, on behalf of the CPA, the Parliament of Ghana, and on my own behalf.
May the Ghana section of the Heavenly Choirs welcome Her Majesty to eternal rest? May she receive a resounding rendition of, and welcome to Highlife dance-steps set in King Bruce’s “Awaa Waa Atoo”, which was composed for her first visit to our beloved country, Ghana, over sixty years ago.
Fare Thee Well Queen Lilibet!
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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