Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu I
He was the first King of the Asante Empire and ruled from 1701 to 1717. He was the first King to reign in Asante royal history. He succeeded his uncle Obiri Yeboa, and through military pacts, he built the foundations of the Empire.
Otumfuo Nana Opoku Ware I
He was the second Asantehene and ruled from 1720 to 1750. Often referred to as the builder of the Asante Empire, he led his army to war and won a number of them.
Otumfuo Nana Kusi Obodum
Nana Kusi Obodum ruled for 14 years between 1750 and 1764. This was the period of the Oyoko Abohyen dynasty. He was forced to abdicate the kinship.
Otumfuo Nana Osei Kwadwo Okoawia
He ruled for about 13 years between 1764 and 1777. A regent succeeded him before another Asantehene emerged.
Osei Kwame Panyin
He ruled from 1777 until 1801 before taking his life in 1803 to stop the brawling civil war in Asante. Nana Osei Kwadwo Okoawia declared him his successor before he died in 1777. A decision that triggered insurrections in his reign.
Otumfuo Nana Opoku Fofie
He ruled as Asantehene for only a few months from late 1803 to early 1804.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu Kwame Asibey Bonsu
1804 – 1824
Osei Yaw Akoto
This Asantehene ruled for about 10 years between 1824 and 1834 when he died.
Otumfuo Nana Kwaku Dua
He reigned for a long time from 1834 until 1867. He had an agreement with King William I of the Netherlands to provide Asante recruits in 1837 in exchange for guns. He died in 1867.
Otumfuo Nana Kofi Karikari
Kofi Karikari was Kwaku Dua I’s grandnephew. An electoral majority chose him as Asanteheneand he reigned from 1867. However, in 1874, he was forced to abdicate the stool due to the Anglo-Ashanti war and other reasons.
Otumfuo Nana Mensa Bonsu
He ascended the throne in 1874 after the Anglo-Ashanti War of 1873-74. He tried restoring the fortunes of Kumasi after its destruction in the war. In 1883, he was forced to abdicate the stool and he died in 1896.
Otumfuo Nana Kwaku Dua II
He was the 12th ascendant to the Gold Stool and ruled from April to June 1884. He died after a short illness.
Otumfuo Nana Prempeh I
He was the 13th King of the Asante Kingdom. Named Prince Kwaku Dua III of the Kingdom at birth, he ascended the throne at 18 years of age. He ruled between 1888 and and 1931. He fought a war against the British in 1893 and was exiled between 1900 and 1924 to Seychelles. He got his throne back in 1926 but assumed the title of Kumasehene thereafter.
Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II
Prempeh II ruled from 1931 to 1970. He ascended the throne as Kumasehene but got back the title Asantehe in 1935. He gave large tracts of land for the construction of KNUST. He ruled until he died in 1970.
Otumfuo Nana Opoku Ware II
Nana Opoku Ware II was the Asantehene between 1970 and 1999. He was a successful lawyer and surveyor and earned tremendous respect and support in Asante politics. He focused on ensuring that there was peace and justice within the Kingdom. He ruled the Empire for about 29 years until he died in 1999.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II
Known in private life as Barima Kwaku Dua, he ascended the Gold Stool in 1999 and is the reigning King. A peace and development King, he has transformed the chieftaincy institution into a modern institution but fundamentally adheres to traditions while operating in a modern system. This highly revered King has solved protracted chieftaincy and political disputes and has weighed in, to perfect situations as a centripetal force. Political forces have employed his moral authority in hard campaigns. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is a humanitarian service provider, peacemaker, resource mobilizer, collaborator of development initiatives, and one of the most internationally-sought traditional rulers predicated on his culture for peace mantra.
