Haruna Iddrisu (born 8 September 1970) is a Ghanaian lawyer, politician, football enthusiast and owner of Karela United and Steadfast Football clubs owner who is a member of the eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing Tamale South. He served as the Minority Leader for NDC in Ghana's Parliament from January 2017 and was succeeded by Ato Forson.

Early life and education

Haruna Iddrisu was born in 1970 at Tamale, Ghana.He started his early education at Kulikuli school. Iddrisu studied at the University of Ghana between 1993 and 1997 where he obtained B.A. (Hons) in Sociology. He was active in student politics and was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students during his final year. Iddrisu is also a barrister and has been a member of the Ghana Bar Association since 2002.

Political career

After being a student leader for years in his tertiary education period, Iddrisu transitioned into mainstream national politics and rose to become the National Youth Organizer for the National Democratic Congress in 2002. He held that position for 8 years even whilst serving as Minister of Communications in the Atta Mills Government. Iddrisu stepped down from the position in 2010.

As Member of Parliament

He stood for MP in the 2004 parliamentary election in the then newly formed Tamale South constituency. Iddrisu served as the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications and also the Minority Spokesman on Communications in the fourth Parliament when the National Democratic Congress, his party was in opposition. He retained his seat in the 2008 parliamentary election by gaining 78.2% of the total votes cast. He once again retained his seat in the 2012 parliamentary elections by getting 74.6% of the total votes cast. Even though his party lost the Presidential Elections, Haruna retained his seat in the 2016 Elections and was selected to lead the minority caucus as the Minority Leader of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic in Ghana. In January 2020, Haruna Iddrisu donated a CHPS compound to the Duunyin community in the Northern region of Ghana to provide health care services to the indigents of the community. During the elections that year, Even though, Iddrisu's party, the NDC, failed to recapture power from the NPP, he retained the Tamale South Constituency seat after winning by a landslide. In January 2023, Haruna's reign as Minority Leader came to an end after the minority NDC changed its leadership in parliament, replacing Haruna with Ato Forson. In May 2023, Haruna run unopposed for the NDC Parliamentary primaries and won. In the history of Ghana's politics, he is the only incumbent MP to run for primaries unopposed for 4 consecutive times.

As Minister of state

He has held various positions in government, including Minister for Communications under the Mills and Mahama governments as well as Minister for Trade between 2013 and 2014. He was appointed the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations by President Mahama in July 2014.

Personal life

He is a married Muslim, has 3 children and hails from the Northern Region of Ghana.

Football

Haruna Iddrisu is a football enthusiast. He plays the game on weekends and on holiday in his native, Tamale. Iddrisu also owns Ghana Premier League club, Karela United, and Division One side, Steadfast FC, a club that produced Leicester City's winger, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku. The English Premier League outfit reportedly paid 17 million Euros to secure Issahaku's services from Sporting CP. Haruna iddrisu and his Steadfast Football Club earned 7.9 million Euros from the deal.

As a philanthropist