Daniel Kwaku Botwe (born February 26, 1958) is 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 ...

politician. He is the Member of Parliament of Okere constituency in the Eastern Region 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, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. He served as Minister for Information and National Orientation in the

John Agyekum Kufour John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been spe ...

administration, He served as the Minister for Regional Reorganization and Development and also the Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development in the

Nana Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

first and second term of office respectively.

Early life and education

Dan Kwaku Botwe was born on February 26, 1958, in the Eastern Region of Ghana.He hails from Abiriw Akuapem He was enrolled at the Presbyterian Primary and Middle Schools at Mabang in the Ahafo-Ano District of 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 ...

for his primary education. He obtained 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 ...

certificate at Kumasi Academy, and his

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 ...

certificate in 1977 from

Achimota School 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 school wa ...

. He gained admission into 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 ...

to pursue a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

Working life

In 1985, Botwe was employed by the

Ghana Cocobod The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is a Ghanaian government-controlled institution that fixes the buying price for cocoa in Ghana. Farmers are protected from the volatile prices on the world market through the price-fixing. Besides the higher quality ...

as a computer analyst. He worked there until 1993, when he entered private business. He was appointed director of Danmaud Limited, a private company in

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, , ...

Political life

While at KNUST, he was elected as the national secretary of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) from 1982 to 1983. His election coincided with the beginning of the military rule led by the

Provisional National Defence Council The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup ...

. His activism and criticism of the ruling elite resulted in him being targeted as a troublemaker. He was sentenced to exile with other Ghanaians to the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. He later returned to Ghana and worked as a computer analyst at the

Ghana cocoa board The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is a Ghanaian government-controlled institution that fixes the buying price for cocoa in Ghana. Farmers are protected from the volatile prices on the world market through the price-fixing. Besides the higher quality ...

from 1985 to 1993 before moving into a private business. Botwe contested and won the New Patriotic Party General Secretary election in 1998. He was instrumental in the election of John Kufour as President of Ghana in the 2000 general election. He served in other various capacities in the party, including the National Treasurer of the Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party, and Director of Operations and Research at the National Headquarters. He has been described by President Akufo-Addo as "a heavy hitter, a political weight", for his achievement in taking the New Patriotic Party out of the opposition and into the government in 2001.

Member of Parliament

Dan Botwe contested the parliamentary election in Okere in 2008 after the incumbent,

Brandford Kwame Daniel Adu Brandford Kwame Daniel Adu (born 2 June 1942) is Ghanaian Politician and was a member of parliament of the third and fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, representing the Okere Constituency in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Earl ...

, had decided to step down as the constituency's parliamentarian. Botwe obtained 11,974 votes out of the 19,684 total votes cast, representing 60.8% of the vote, to become the new member of parliament. He went on to win successive parliamentary elections in 2012, 2016 and 2020 He was the minority

chief whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

in the 6th Parliament from 2013 to 2017. As MP he has contributed to the development of his constituency in several ways. He promised his support for Dreams FC, a

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

team that plays their home game at Dawu, a town in his constituency.

Flag bearer ambition

Botwe contested the 2007 New Patriotic Party primaries for

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

. The primaries were organized to find a replacement for

, who had served his full term as the party's flag bearer and President of Ghana. The contest pitched 16 other aspirants against Botwe. The elections took place in

on 22 December 2007. Botwe had asserted that the flag bearer position needed a youthful person and should not be considered as a "retirement package" for the aged. He lost the election to Nana Akufo-Addo.

Minister of Information

From 2006 to 2007 Botwe served as the Minister for Information in the

administration. He succeeded Kwamina Bartels.

Minister for Regional Reorganisation

In January 2017, President Akufo-Addo named Botwe as the Minister for the newly created

Ministry of Regional Reorganization and Development The Ministry of Regional Re-organisation is Government of Ghana ministry charged with the responsibility of supervising the creation of new regions in Ghana. The ministry is headed by Hon. Dan Botwe. It was created in January 2017 by President Aku ...

. Akufo-Addo created the ministry to oversee the division of several regions in the country in fulfillment of one of his political promises. The Volta region will be redrawn to create the Oti region, and the Western region will be redrawn to create the Western-north region.

Cabinet minister

In May 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo named Dan Botwe as one of 19 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, Dan Botwe is part of the inner circle of the president and will aid in key decision-making activities in the country.

Personal life

Dan Kwaku Botwe is married with three children. He is a Christian with the Presbyterian denomination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botwe, Dan 1958 births Living people New Patriotic Party politicians Ghanaian MPs 2009–2013 Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017 Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021 Alumni of Achimota School Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni Cabinet Ministers of Ghana People from Eastern Region (Ghana) Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025 Kumasi Academy alumni