Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko (1956)
is a
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 ...
ian economist, politician and a former banker. He was the vice president of the
Bank of New York
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Fina ...
.
He was the former
Minister for Energy in Ghana.
Early life and education
Agyarko was born in 1956, at
Kumasi
Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...
in the
Ashanti Region
The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...
to Kwasi Agyarko. His father was a merchant and
United Party activist from Jamase in the
Ashanti Region
The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...
and his mother was Jane Ladze Padi from
Krobo Odumase
Krobo Odumase is a town and capital of Lower Manya Krobo Municipal District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School was formerly located here.
Prominent sites
The town is a proposed site for the construction o ...
in the
Eastern Region.
He is the brother of
Dedo Difie Agyarko-Kusi
Dedo Difie Agyarko-Kusi is a Ghanaian politician. She served as Ghana's Ambassador to South Korea. She is a member of the New Patriotic Party. She is the sister of the Emmanuel Kwabena Kyeremateng Agyarko and Boakye Agyarko. She once served as a ...
and
Emmanuel Kwabena Kyeremateng Agyarko.
Agyarko attended the K. O.
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
Primary School in
Ashtown and the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is a public University of Ghana that focuses on science and technology. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is the public university established in the country, as well a ...
Primary School in
Kumasi
Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...
. He then proceeded to
Mfantsipim School
Mfantsipim is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High School and ...
in
Cape Coast for his secondary education from where he had both his
GCE Ordinary Level
The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
and
GCE Advanced Level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
certified.
He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
and
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from the
University of Ghana
The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities.
The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...
,
Legon
Legon , a suburb of the Ghanaian city Accra, is situated about north-east of the city center in the Accra Metropolis District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Legon is home to the main campus of the University of Ghana. ...
. He immigrated to the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
as a political refugee.
Whilst there, he obtained an Advanced Professional Certificate in Banking from the American Institute of Banking and a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
in Financial Economics from
Pace University
Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...
,
New York.
Working life
After graduating from the University of Ghana in 1980, Agyarko did his
mandatory national service at the Ghana Union Nation of Students as the National Coordinator.
When the national service ended in 1981, he was employed as a junior economist with Management and Investment Consultants in Accra. He worked there till 1984 where he was forced to flee Ghana due to an attempt on his life.
Wrongful arrest
After a failed coup d'état led by
Lance Corporal Halidu Giwa and
Sergeant Abdul Malik, the military high command assumed that he was part of coup plotters. This was due to his high political activism and criticism of the economic policies adopted by the country's military leaders led by
Jerry John Rawlings
Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...
. He was arrested by men from the
Ghana Armed Forces
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces is the president of Ghana, who is also the supreme military commander ...
who took him to the Air Force Base at
Burma Camp
Burma Camp is the headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence. The camp is in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. It retains notoriety and fear from previous Ghanaian military regimes, when civilians who entered the camp ...
in
Accra.
He was shot at the base and sent to the
37 Military Hospital morgue.
At the morgue, a nurse realised that he was not dead and rushed him to the emergency services where he was operated upon by Henry Koku Akpalu. After the surgery he fled the country through the help of a friend, Monsieur Le Veloire and his two sisters.
Agyarko emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
as a political refugee
and enrolled at
Pace University
Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...
.
Bank of New York
After graduating from Pace University, he was employed by the Bank of New York, the oldest bank in the United States.
He spent over twenty years at the bank and worked at senior levels in various departments of the Bank.
The positions he held included
operations management and analysis,
product development
In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along w ...
, global network managements,
international 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 ...
and
asset management and the Year 2000 (Y2K) Management Group.
He had oversight responsibilities of various sectors and departments notably in trade, finance, loan syndications, asset securitization and structured finance. He was the principal negotiator on the setting up of the Bank of New York in
Mexico. While working in New York he became a member of the American Economic Association and an Associate Member of the American Institute of Bankers.
He rose through the ranks of the bank and became vice president and Head of Global Network Management for the Americans in the Investment Management and Services Division. He left the bank after 22 years so he could contest elections in Ghana.
While in the US he wrote a weekly column in
The Statesman Newspaper titled ''Letter from America'' from 1993 through 1998.
Political life
Agyarko entered politics at an early age and was the National Coordinator for the
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 ...
Union of Students and Youth Associations from 1979 to 1980.
He was a founding member of the New Patriotic Party in 1992.
Within the party he has held several positions including chairman of The Danquah Busia Club of North America, and briefly served as a Trustee of the
Busia Foundation. He was elected the coordinator for the New Patriotic Party in North America.
Agyarko was appointed as National Campaign manager of the New Patriotic Party in the 2012 Presidential election. He was appointed the Policy Adviser to the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party during the 2016 election.
Ministerial appointment
In
January 2017, Agyarko was appointed the minister of energy in the
Akufo-Addo administration. He was approved by parliament in
February 2017. As the Energy Minister, Agyarko had supervisory responsibility for fifteen major agencies under the ministry.
Controversy
Prior to Agyarko's ministerial confirmation in
February 2017, he was accused by
Mahama Ayariga
Mahama Ayariga (born 12 May 1974) is a lawyer and politician in Ghana. He belongs to the National Democratic Congress. He was the Minister of Information and Media Relations and the Minister of Youth and Sports under the John Dramani Mahama admi ...
at the parliamentary appointment committee of bribing members of the minority to facilitate his approval as a
Minister of energy.
Ayariga reported on
Radio Gold
Radio Gold is a privately owned radio station in Accra, the capital of 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, ...
, that Agyarko through
Muntaka Mubarak, the minority
chief whip, had tried to influence the decision of the Appointments Committee of Parliament by giving each minority member a bribe.
The Speaker of Parliament,
Aaron Mike Oquaye
Aaron Mike Oquaye (born 4 April 1944) is a Ghanaian barrister and politician who served as the sixth Speaker of Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana from 2017 to 2021. An academic, diplomat and Baptist minister, he previously held the ...
set up an ad hoc parliamentary committee to investigate the matter.
After the investigation, the
Joe Ghartey
Joe Ghartey (born 15 June 1961, in Accra) is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic and politician. He is a former Attorney-General of Ghana (2006–2009), Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament (2013–2017) and Railways and Development Minister (2017–2 ...
committee exonerated Agyarko but cited and found Ayariga guilty of being in
contempt
Contempt is a pattern of attitudes and behaviour, often towards an individual or a group, but sometimes towards an ideology, which has the characteristics of disgust and anger.
The word originated in 1393 in Old French contempt, contemps, ...
of parliament for making false allegations against a colleague and bringing the parliament into disrepute.
Ayariga was made to render an apology on the floor of parliament and warned to be mindful of his actions in the future.
After his ministerial appointment was approved, Ayariga publicly praised Agyarko for his track record asserting that his nomination was approved on merit.
Cabinet Minister
In
May
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...
2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo named Boakye Agyarko as part of nineteen ministers who would form
his cabinet.
The names of the 19 ministers were submitted to the Parliament of Ghana and announced by the Speaker of the House,
Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Ocquaye.
As a Cabinet minister, Agyarko was part of the inner circle of the president and aided in key decision-making activities in the country.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agyarko, Boakye
Energy ministers of Ghana
Mfantsipim School alumni
New Patriotic Party politicians
Pace University alumni
University of Ghana alumni
BNY Mellon
1956 births
Living people
Ghanaian MPs 2009–2013
Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017
Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021
Cabinet Ministers of Ghana
Ghanaian economists