Amon Nikoi, born Seth Amon Nikoi, (19 January 1930 – 5 September 2002) was a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. He was the

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

between 1957 and 1960 as well as the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Bank of Ghana The Bank of Ghana ( BoG) is the central bank of Ghana. It is located in Accra and was formed in 1957. The bank is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of thAlliance for Financial Inclusion History The Central Ban ...

from 16 March 1973 to June 1977. He had a stint as the

Finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and a presidential advisor between September 1979 to May 1981 under

Hilla Limann Hilla Limann, (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served the President of Ghana from 24 September 1979 to 31 December 1981. He served as a diplomat in Lome, Togo and Geneva, Switzerland. Education ...

during the Third Republic.

Early life and education

Nikoi was born in the

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

suburb of La on 19 January 1930 to Ga parents. His father, Gottfried Ashaley Nikoi was a civil servant while his mother, Agnes Betty Oboshie Quao was a teacher and a textiles trader. Amon Nikoi's maternal great-grandfather, Nii Ngleshie Addy I was the oldest son of Nii Tetteh Tsuru I, the founder and ruler of the Otuopai Clan, a royal house in Ga Mashie. Amon Nikoi had his primary and middle education at the Roman Catholic Jubilee School in

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

followed by his secondary school at

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The schoo ...

between 1945 and 1948. He graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. He proceeded to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

as a Fellow from 1953 to 1955 for his master's degree in

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

and a doctorate in Political Economy and Government. Both degrees were conferred upon Nikoi in 1956. Amon Nikoi's Ph.D. dissertation was titled, ''"Indirect rule and government in Gold Coast Colony 1844-1954; a study in the history, ecology and politics of administration in a changing society."''

Career

From 1957 to 1960, he worked with the Commonwealth and Foreign Service as an economic and political affairs secretary-

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...

at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, DC and the

to the

( UN). In 1960, he was appointed the Alternate Executive Director of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

(IMF) until 1966 when he was promoted to the level of executive director of the IMF. He left the IMF to return to his homeland at the end of 1968. In January 1969, he became the first Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. He was quickly given the portfolio of Senior Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, a position he remained in until February 1973. The

Ghanaian government The Government of Ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy, followed by alternating military and civilian governments in Ghana. In January 1993, military government gave way to the Fourth Republic after presidential and parliamentary electi ...

selected and confirmed him as the new governor and chairman of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the

in March 1973 until his forced retirement in June 1977 by the military government,

National Redemption Council The National Redemption Council (NRC) was the ruling Ghana military government from 13 January 1972 to 9 October 1975. Its chairman was Colonel I. K. Acheampong, who was thus also the head of state of Ghana. Duration of rule The NRC came into p ...

(NRC) led by army general

Ignatius Kutu Acheampong Ignatius Kutu Acheampong ( ; (23 September 1931 – 16 June 1979) was the military head of state of Ghana from 13 January 1972 to 5 July 1978, when he was deposed in a palace coup. He was executed by firing squad on 16 June 1979. Early life and ...

. When constitutional rule returned in 1979, the Third Republican government of the

-led

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in ...

( PNP) made him Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and later, a presidential advisor. He entered private practice as an Economic and Financial Consultant to various private sector firms and public institutions both home and abroad. He was also the chairman of Ashanti Goldfields Company ( AGC) and Grains Warehousing Company. In recognition of his services to Ghana in

and

Banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

, the government at the time, Supreme Military Council II led by military general,

Fred Akuffo Lieutenant General Frederick William "Fred" Kwasi Akuffo (21 March 1937 – 26 June 1979) was a Ghanaian soldier and politician. He was Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces from 1976 to 1978, and chairman of the ruling Supr ...

awarded him the State Honour of the

Order of the Volta The Order of the Volta is an order of merit from the Republic of Ghana. It was instituted in 1960 and is awarded to people for their outstanding service to the country.

(Civil Division).

Personal life and family

He was married to

Gloria Amon Nikoi Gloria Adwoa Amon Nikoi, née Addae (6 June 1927 – 10 November 2010) was as a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the Foreign Minister in 1979 under the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) government. She was the first Ghanaian woman to hold ...

(née Addae), Ghana's first female

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. They had three children. His younger brother, Gottfried Dzane Nikoi worked in the Attorney–General's Department as a state attorney. His maternal uncle was the Ghanaian

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

Nii Amaa Ollennu Raphael Nii Amaa Ollennu (21 May 1906 – 22 December 1986) was a jurist and judge who became a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana from 1962 to 1966, the acting President of Ghana during the Second Republic from 7 August 1970 to 31 Augu ...

who was elected the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana. History Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast. The body, called the Legislative Council, ...

during the Second Republic as well as serving as the Chairman of the Presidential Commission and acting

President of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is Nana Akufo-Addo, who won the 2020 presidential elec ...

from 7 August 1970 to 31 August 1970. The diplomat and public servant,

Nathan Quao Nathan Anang Quao, (21 November 1915 – 15 February 2005) was a Ghanaian civil servant, educationist and diplomat who became a senior presidential advisor to the administrations of multiple Heads of State of Ghana. His last roles in governme ...

was also his uncle. His first cousins were the brothers,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

and George Clerk.

Death and funeral

Nikoi died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

on 5 September 2002. His

funeral service A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

was held at the

Accra Ridge Church The Accra Ridge Church is an English-speaking inter-denominational Protestant church based in the residential neighbourhood of Ridge in Accra, Ghana. The church is affiliated to the Anglican Diocese of Accra, Methodist Church Ghana and the Pres ...

where he was a congregant and his remains were buried at the La Public Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikoi, Amon 1930 births 2002 deaths Alumni of Achimota School Amherst College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian economists Governors of Bank of Ghana Finance ministers of Ghana Ghanaian diplomats Ghanaian civil servants Permanent Representatives of Ghana to the United Nations Ghanaian Presbyterians Ghanaian Protestants People from Accra Recipients of the Order of the Volta Ghanaian presidential advisors