Lawrence Rosario Abavana

Lawrence Rosario Abavana (1920 – 29 May 2004) was a Ghanaian politician and teacher by profession. He served in various ministerial portfolios in the first republic and also served as a member of the council of state in the third republic. He was a member of the Convention People's Party (CPP).

Early life and education Abavana was born in 1920 at Navrongo. He had his early education at the Roman Catholic School in Navrongo. He continued at Achimota College where he was trained as a teacher.

Politics Member of parliament He was elected as a member of the legislative assembly in 1951 representing Kassena-Nankana South under the ticket of the Convention People's Party (CPP) that same year, he was appointed ministerial secretary to the minister of communication and works. In 1954, he defeated J. E. Seyire of the Northern People's Party by 5,795 to 3,344 to retain his seat as a member of the legislative assembly.

Minister of State In 1956, he was appointed minister without portfolio. As Minister for Agriculture, he led the Ghana delegation to a cocoa conference in September 1957. On 4 November 1957, he was appointed regional commissioner for Northern Ghana (this included the Northern Region the Upper East Region and the Upper West Region), and, in July 1960, he was appointed Minister for Health.

In May 1961, he was appointed Minister for Trade; as the Minister for Trade he led the Ghana delegation to Dahomey in August 1961. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture for the second time in October that same year, and in September 1962, he was appointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting. As Minister for Health, he led the Ghana delegation to the Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Conference held in Alexandria, United Arab Republic (UAR) in January 1964. He led another delegation in March 1964 to the World Health Assembly, Geneva.

In May 1964, he was appointed Minister for Interior, and in February 1965, Minister for Mines and Mineral Resources. On 11 June 1965, he was reappointed as Minister for Interior. There are schools within Accra and Northern which have structures named in honour of him, most notable amongst them is the Abavana Cluster of Schools, a basic school in Kotobabi within the Accra Metropolitan area.