Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, is a lawyer, called to the Ghana Bar and the English Bar (Inner Temple) as well as a publisher and entrepreneur.
Mr Greenstreet was re-elected the 2020 Presidential Candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), having represented the Party in 2016 in the Ghanaian general elections.
He is the first-ever CPP Presidential Candidate to have been re-elected.
Political life
He was an active member of the People’s Convention Party (PCP) before the party merged with NCP to form the CPP in 1996. He continued to play various roles in the CPP.
In 1996, he contested as a parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the Convention People’s Party but had to withdraw due to the Great Alliance at that time.
In 2004 he was selected by the party as its parliamentary candidate for Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency to contest in the 2004 Ghanaian general election, which he lost to Akosua Frema Osei-Opare of the NPP.
He was later elected as General Secretary of the CPP in 2007 and re-elected in 2011, being the only national officer to be re-elected for a second term as at the time.
In January 2016, he contested for the Presidential nomination to represent CPP and won with a total vote of 1,288 votes, representing 64.2% of valid votes cast.
His victory makes him the first physically challenged person to contest for a Presidential race in Ghana.
Beliefs
Mr Greenstreet is a political activist who believes in enhancing the rights and opportunities for the youth, women, and disadvantaged in society and a firm believer in Social Justice, Self-Determination, and Pan-Africanism.
He is also well noted for his organizational abilities and capacity to galvanize volunteer groups for causes.
The CPP Presidential Candidate’s overriding motivation for seeking to be President of Ghana is to put in place a “Ghanaian Dream”, where any Ghanaian, (particularly the youth and women) who is hardworking and needs a fair system will have opportunities to change their life story and secure their future.
He believes the “Ghanaian Dream” will see a responsive government machinery and civil bureaucracy that harnesses the resources of the nation for the benefit of the people.
Hobbies
He is an avid swimmer and Athlete and a member of the Ghana National Rifle Association (GNRA), a shotgun expert (Olympic Trap), and has represented Ghana’s Black Snipers abroad, being the first African to participate in an international Para shooting event.
Ealy life
Ivor was born on 31 May 1966 in Accra to Prof Dennis Greenstreet and Miranda Greenstreet, formerly a professor at the University of Ghana and Co-Chair of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers.
A native of Ga-Mashie in Accra, Ivor’s parents are both professors from University of Ghana, Legon and he is the third of four children.
He had his early education in Ghana and left for the UK to read law. On completion, he was called to the Middle Temple and Ghana Bar respectively.
He uses a wheelchair as a result of a car accident sustained in 1997 on the Tema motorway.
He is a father of two and also a member of the Men of Christ of the Christ Anglican Church, Legon.
