Ghana gets new chief justice.

President John Kufuor has nominated Georgina Theodora Wood to be the next chief justice. She replaces Francois Yaonansu Kpegah, who had been acting chief justice since the death of former chief justice George Kinsley Acquah in 2006. She is the first female chief justice in the history of the country and joins the ranks of women occupying top public service positions, including Elisabeth Adjei, head of the immigration service, Anna Bossman, acting commissioner of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and Elisabeth Mills Robertson, deputy inspector general of police for administration.

Born in 1947, Justice Wood studied law at the University of Ghana, Legon before joining the police service as deputy superintendent and public prosecutor. She later joined the judiciary as a district magistrate before being appointed to the court of appeal.

As chief justice she will preside over the supreme court, which is the highest court of appeal in Ghana and has jurisdiction in constitutional matters.