Joseph Henry Mensah

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Joseph Henry Mensah (born October 31, 1928 in Sekondi , Ghana ; † July 12, 2018 ) was one of the longest serving and best-known politicians in Ghana. Since the early 1960s, Mensah was active in various governments, dictatorships and military juntas as an advisor or minister.

education

Mensah studied at Achimota College (now: University of Ghana ) between 1948 and 1954 . In 1954 he moved to the University of London to study economics. In London he did both his bachelor's and master's in economics. At Stanford University in California, USA, he completed advanced studies and specialized in economic theory.

Career

During his studies at Achimota College, he worked in the colonial administration as a finance inspector in Accra . Between 1954 and 1958 he worked as a research assistant in the economics department at the University of Ghana and later briefly as a lecturer. He then began his work for the United Nations in 1958 at the Center for Development Planning in New York.

In 1961 he returned to Ghana and served as chairman of the National Planning Commission of the government under President Kwame Nkrumah . In this position he was instrumental in developing the government's seven-year plan for the period between 1962 and 1969. In 1965 Mensah had to leave the country for political reasons.

After Nkrumah was overthrown by the National Liberation Council (NLC), he became Ghana's finance minister between 1966 and 1969. After the end of the NLC's military junta, Mensah was appointed minister for finance and economic planning in the government of the Progress Party (PP) under Kofi Abrefa Busia Appointed in 1970 and 1972. He was also a member of parliament.

Between 1993 and 1997 Mensah was a member of the board of directors of the African Development Bank (ADB).

In 1996, Mensah won the parliamentary seat of the Sunyani East constituency as a member of the New Patriotic Party and was re-elected in the 2000 election. In the second legislative period of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, Mensah was the leader of the parliamentary majority.

During the first term of President John Agyekum Kufuor , Mensah was Senior Minister with an advisory role in economic affairs (Minister of Age responsible for public service reform and the renewal program for national institutions ). Mensah has been chairman of Ghana's National Development Planning Commission since President John Agyekum Kufuor's second term.

Other positions:

  • Chairman and Managing Director of Development and Management Consultants (Ghana) Ltd;
  • Chairman, Sunyani District Council (1978–1981)
  • Owner of Banka Farms Limited

See also

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mensah, Joseph Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ghanaian Gold Coast politician, Senior Minister in Ghana
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Sekondi
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 2018