Kwesi Amissah-Arthur
Amissah-Arthur in 2014
Vice-President of Ghana
In office
6 August 2012 – 7 January 2017
PresidentJohn Dramani Mahama
Preceded byJohn Dramani Mahama
Succeeded byMahamudu Bawumia
12th Governor of Bank of Ghana
In office
1 October 2009 – 6 August 2012
PresidentJohn Atta Mills
Preceded byPaul A. Acquah
Deputy Minister for Finance
In office
April 1993 – March 1997
PresidentJerry Rawlings
Deputy Secretary for Finance and Economic Planning
In office
February 1986 – March 1993
PresidentJerry Rawlings
Personal details
Born
William Edmund Davidson Amissah-Arthur

29 April 1951
Cape Coast, Gold Coast
Died29 June 2018 (aged 67)
Accra, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
Political partyNational Democratic Congress
SpouseMatilda Amissah-Arthur
ChildrenKwesi Nyan Amissah-Arthur
Araba Amissah-Arthur
Residence(s)Accra, Ghana
Alma mater
Occupation

Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur (born William Edmund Davidson Amissah-Arthur)[1] (29 April 1951 – 29 June 2018) was a Ghanaian economist, academic and politician who was the fifth Vice-President of Ghana's 4th Republic, in office from 6 August 2012 until 7 January 2017, under President John Dramani Mahama. Previously he was Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 2009 to 2012.

He was nominated by President John Dramani Mahama to be the vice-president a week after Mahama himself was sworn in.[2] This followed the sudden death of John Atta Mills on 24 July 2012.[3] He was sworn in as vice-president on 6 August 2012, following vetting by the Parliament of Ghana.[4]

Early life and education

Amissah-Arthur was born at Cape Coast on 29 April 1951,[5] the capital of the Central Region of Ghana, at the time organized as British Gold Coast Colony.[6] His mother, Effie Amissah-Arthur is from the Hutchful family while his father, Jabesh Richmond P. Amissah-Arthur, an educator was from the Amissah-Arthur family and served as the second and longest serving headmaster of the Oda Secondary School at Akyem-Oda in the Eastern Region from September 1961 to December, 1977.[7][8][9][10][11][12] Both families originated from Cape Coast and are of Fante ethnic origin. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur had five other siblings - one brother and four sisters.[9][13]

He attended the Aboom Methodist 'B' Primary School in Cape Coast and passed the Common Entrance examination from the Akim Oda Methodist School in 1964.[14] He completed his secondary education at the Mfantsipim School, where he obtained the GCE Ordinary Level in 1969 and the GCE Advanced Level in 1971. At Mfantsipim, he was a resident of Lockhart-Schweitzer House. He proceeded to the University of Ghana at Legon, where he obtained the B.Sc. in 1974 and M.Sc. in 1976, both in Economics.[15][16]

Economics and consultancy

Amissah-Arthur was a research assistant at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research between 1974 and 1975. He later joined the Economics Department as a teaching assistant from 1977 to 1978, going on to become an assistant lecturer in 1979. He lectured at the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana between 1980 and 1988. He was also a lecturer at the Department of Economics, Anambra State College of Education, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria (August 1981 – July 1983).[17]

He went into politics until 1997 when he resigned from the public sector and went into finance and economic consultancy. He worked as a consultant for the World Bank in The Gambia. He also served as a consultant for the Netherlands' government education project in Ghana. He then worked as Senior Economist for the Sigma One Corporation in Ghana between 1998 and 2000. Between 2001 and 2002, he was on assignment for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.[15]

Politics

Finance and Economic Planning Portfolio

From 1983 to 1986, Amissah-Arthur served as a special assistant to the Secretary of Finance and Economic Planning, Kwesi Botchwey, in the Provisional National Defense Council government. Subsequently, he was Deputy Secretary for Finance in the PNDC government from February 1986 to March 1993. From April 1993, he continued as the Deputy Minister for Finance in the Rawlings government after the establishment of constitutional rule until March 1997.[15][17] He also served on the board of the erstwhile state-owned Bank for Housing and Construction (BHC).

Governor of the Bank of Ghana

Amissah-Arthur was appointed as Governor of the Bank of Ghana in October 2009 by President John Atta Mills. He held this position until 6 August 2012, when he became vice-president of Ghana following the death of Atta Mills.[18][19] He was responsible in ensuring the general development of the national economy, promote by monetary measure the stabilisation of the value of the currency within and outside Ghana and also to formulate and implement monetary policy aimed at achieving the objective of the Bank and Ghana in a whole, among others.

Indian President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee being received by Amissah-Arthur on his arrival, at Kotoka International Airport, in Accra, Ghana on June 12, 2016

Vice President of Ghana

After the Death of the President John Atta Mills, his successor the then Vice President John Dramani Mahama who had been sworn in as president, named him as his vice president to fill in the gap he had evacuated. He was sworn in as vice president on 6 August 2012 in Parliament by the then Chief Justice Georgina Wood, after going through a vetting process by the Parliament of Ghana.[4][20] He was maintained by the John Dramani Mahama in his bid to win the 2012 elections as his running mate.[21][22] John Dramani Mahama won the 2012 Elections by a 50.7% majority of the votes. automatically making him the Vice President-Elect of Ghana.[23][24] They were sworn in as president and Vice President on 7 January 2013.[25][26]

Personal life

Amissah-Arthur was married to Matilda Amissah-Arthur with two children, Kwesi, an ophthalmologist-academic and Araba, a lawyer.[13] He was a Christian and was known to worship at the Calvary Methodist Church at Adabraka in Accra.[27] He enjoyed football and playing of Tennis.[28] Due to his love for sports especially football, he was a supporter and a major shareholder in the football club, the Accra Hearts of Oak S.C.[29][30]

Death and state funeral

Amissah-Arthur died on 29 June 2018 at the 37 Military Hospital after reportedly collapsing at the Air Force Gym during his routine morning workout session.[31] A state funeral, attended by several dignitaries, was held for him on 27 July 2018 at the Accra International Conference Centre after which his body, accompanied by a military cortège, was conveyed to the new Military Cemetery at Burma Camp for interment amid the sounding of the Last Post by army buglers and a 19-gun salute.[32][33][34]

Legacy and memorial

The Ghanaian government renamed the Moree Senior High School as Amissah-Arthur Senior High School, Moree in his memory.[32] A learning centre, consisting of a library and an ICT complex, located at Ohawu in the Volta Region was named in his honour.[35] On the occasion of the first anniversary of his death, his family sponsored the establishment of a doctoral fellowship and a research chair at the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana.[36][37][38][39]

See also

References

  1. ↑ MyJoyOnline TV (27 July 2018), Amissah-Arthur's Funeral - AM Show on JoyNews (27-7-18), archived from the original on 4 August 2018, retrieved 4 August 2018
  2. ↑ "Amissah Arthur is Vice President". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "President Mills Dies at 68". GhanaWeb. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  4. 1 2 Gadugah, Nathan. "Amissah-Arthur is now Vice President". Politics. MyJoyOnline. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Vice President". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Profile of late former Vice President Amissah-Arthur". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "Amissah-Arthur's mother yet to hear of son's death - Family member". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "Profile of deceased former Ghana Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur". The Ghana Guardian News. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 Online, Peace FM. "Vice President Amissah-Arthur Loses Father". Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  10. ↑ Andam, Emmanuel. "Father Of Vice-President Amissah-Arthur Laid To Rest". Gbc News Ghana. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "Veep unveils bust in honour of his father - MyJoyOnline.com". MyJoyOnline. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  12. ↑ Nananom, Maxwell Okamafo Asamani Addo, Old student Odasco. "Tribute To Mr. J R P Amissah-Arthur: Ghana Has Lost An Educational Compass". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 21 August 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. 1 2 "Amissah-Arthur's funeral poster pops up". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  14. ↑ "Profile of late former Vice President Amissah-Arthur". Ghanaweb. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 "President Mahama Nominates Governor Of Bank Of Ghana As Vice President". Government of Ghana. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  16. ↑ "Alumnus Amissah-Arthur Cuts Sod For The Construction Of Economics Building". Official website. University of Ghana. Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  17. 1 2 "The man Amissah-Arthur... he has risen through the ranks". Politics. MyJoyOnline. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  18. ↑ "Governors and Deputy Governors of the Bank Since its Inception". Bank of Ghana. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  19. ↑ "Governor of Bank of Ghana becomes vice-president". Central Banking. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "Ghana gets a new Vice President". The Africa Report.com. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  21. ↑ "Ghana's New President Announces Running Mate | Voice of America - English". Voice of America. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  22. ↑ "Why Mahama will retain Amissah-Arthur as running mate – MyJoyOnline.com". Myjoyonline. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  23. ↑ "Mahama declared winner of Ghana election". Aljazeera. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "Ghana election: John Mahama declared winner". BBC News. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  25. ↑ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Ghana ushers in John Mahama as new leader | DW | 07.01.2013". DW.COM. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "Ghana President Sworn In Despite Election Challenge | Voice of America - English". Voice of America. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "Amissah-Arthur's security detail changed". GhanaWeb. 6 August 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  28. ↑ "Kwesi Amissah-Arthur". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  29. ↑ "Hearts of Oak major shareholder Amissah Arthur passes on". GhanaSoccernet. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  30. ↑ "Hearts of Oak commiserate with family of late Amissah Arthur".
  31. ↑ Mordy, Jerry Tsatro. "Former Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur dies".
  32. 1 2 Yire, Iddi (27 July 2018). "Dignitaries attend late Amissah-Arthur's funeral". Archived from the original on 28 July 2018.
  33. ↑ "Amissah-Arthur's funeral: Photos of all the dignitaries present". Myjoyonline. 27 July 2018.
  34. ↑ Abedu-Kennedy, Dorcas (27 July 2018). "VIDEO: Amissah Arthur's final resting place - AdomOnline.com". AdomOnline. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  35. ↑ Reporter, Joshua Kobby Smith News. "Late Amissah-Arthur Honoured With New Library And Computer Complex". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  36. ↑ "Amissah-Arthur family announces $1m initiative to retain lecturers". Ghanaweb. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  37. ↑ "Amissah-Arthur's family institutes fully-funded PhD Award at UG". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  38. ↑ "Amissah-Arthur family announces $1m initiative to retain lecturers". MyJoyOnline. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  39. ↑ "Amissah Arthur learning center commissioned at Ohawu". GBC Ghana Online. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
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