After being a student leader for years in his tertiary education, 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
Attah Mills Government. Iddrisu stepped down from the position in 2010.
As a 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 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 healthcare 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 ran 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. He subsequently won the
2024 Ghanaian general election sixth time as the member of parliament for
Tamale South (Ghana parliament constituency) on the ticket of the
National Democratic Congress (Ghana). In February 2026, Haruna Iddrisu denied the authenticity of social media posters suggesting he intended to run for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer position. His office stated that the posters were not from him or his team and emphasized that he remained focused on his duties as Minister for Education and Member of Parliament for Tamale South.
As Minister of State He has held various positions in government, including Minister for Communications under the Mills and Mahama administrations, and Minister for Trade and Industry from 2014 to 2017. He was appointed the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations by President
Mahama in July 2014. He was appointed minister for Education in January 2025 in John Mahama's second term as president. And in the same January 2025, the parliament of
Ghana led by the deputy speaker confirmed his approval as the Minister for Education. He was sworn in with the other five ministers of state by President Mahama. == AS Minister of Education ==