[5] Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu is a native of Wa, the capital town of the Upper West Region of Ghana.
[5][9] He later joined Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) under the leadership of Jerry John Rawlings who served as the chairman and head of state.
[11][5] When constitutional government was restored in 1993 under the National Democratic Congress, Iddrisu was appointed as the Minister of Defence, a position he held until 1999.
[5] In 2002, Iddrisu stood for the chairmanship election to replace Rawlings as head of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), but he lost to former Attorney–General and Minister of Justice, Obed Asamoah by just 2 votes getting 332 against his 334.
[22] He is also the brother in law of Alex Mould, a former chief executive officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.