Hanna Tetteh

Hanna Serwaa Tetteh (born 31 May 1967) is a Ghanaian barrister, diplomat and politician She was also the Member of Parliament for the Awutu-Senya West constituency. Her secondary education was at Wesley Girls' High School, Cape Coast, in the Central Region of Ghana, from 1978 to 1985. Between 1986 and 1989, she studied law at the University of Ghana, where she obtained the Bachelor of Law (LL.B) degree.

Early career Tetteh did her National Service as a Legal Officer with the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) from 1992 to 1993.

After two years of private legal practice, Tetteh joined the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice as a Legal Officer, but later that same year, she joined the Ghana Agro Food Company (GAFCO) as a Legal Adviser; GAFCO was a food processing company that produced wheat flour, poultry and animal feed, fish meal and canned tuna. The company also marketed other food and veterinary products and was located in the Tema Harbour Area in Tema she held other management positions in the company namely Human Resources and Legal Services Manager and thereafter Deputy General Manager (Finance and Administration Manager until she went into politics in 2000. After serving a term in Parliament, she did not immediately contest for re-election and re-joined GAFCO as General Manager (Corporate, Administration and Legal) where she worked until December 2009.

At the 2008 presidential campaign, she played a role in managing the party's communication strategy for that election which made her a more prominent political figure and she became one of the main spokespersons for the NDC.

Minister of Trade and Industry, 2009–2013 After the NDC victory in the 2008 elections, Tetteh became the Spokesperson for the newly elected Government while the process of making new appointments was ongoing and in February 2009, President John Atta Mills nominated her for the position of Minister of Trade and Industry. Following her confirmation by Parliament, she took over the portfolio and held the position of Minister of Trade and Industry from February 2009

She won the seat after getting 23,032 votes representing 55.47% against his closest contender Oppey Abbey also a former Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya Constituency who got 18,487 votes representing 44.53%.

She lost the seat to George Andah in the 2016 parliamentary election who got 28,867 votes, 52.27% against her 25,664 votes representing 46.87%.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2013–2017 Hanna Tetteh with John Mahama and Robert Porter Jackson in 2016 when she was Foreign Affairs Minister of Ghana.

Following the elections, Tetteh was nominated by President Mahama as Minister for Foreign Affairs and appointed as such in January 2013 after parliamentary approval. While serving as Minister for Foreign Affairs, she was also a member of the National Security Council and the Armed Forces Council. From 2017 until 2018, she served as a Co-Facilitator in the IGAD-led High-Level Forum for the Revitalisation of the Agreement for the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan.

Career with the United Nations, 2018–present In 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Tetteh as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), succeeding Sahle-Work Zewde.

Following the resignation of Ghassan Salamé as head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in 2020, Guterres suggested Tetteh as his successor; instead, the role went to Ján Kubiš.

In 2022, Guterres appointed Tetteh as his Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, thereby switching positions with Parfait Onanga-Anyanga. In 2025, she succeeded Abdoulaye Bathily as the Secretary General's Special Representative for Libya and as Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Personal life Tetteh is the sister of Gizella Tetteh Agbotui, a member of parliament for the Awutu Senya West Constituency where she also served as member of parliament and Gabriella Tetteh, who also serves as the Central Regional Communication Officer for the NDC.