Joseph Leo Seko Abbey was a Ghanaian economist, politician and diplomat. He served as Ghana's Minister for Economic Planning from 1978 to 1979. He was Ghana High Commissioner to Canada from 1984 to 1986, Ghana High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1986 to 1990, and Ghana Ambassador to the United States of America from 1990 to 1994.

Early life and education

Abbey was born on 15 August 1940 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, , ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. He is the son of Robert Mensah Abbey, a Ghanaian politician and Member of Parliament during the first republic. Abbey had his secondary education at

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 ...

and later entered the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1961 where he obtained his bachelor's degree in economics in 1964. In 1965, he enrolled at the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

for his graduate studies in Statistics. In 1967 he was awarded a master's degree in Statistics, and in 1968 he was awarded his doctorate degree in Statistics. In 1971 he joined the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

as an Associate Research Fellow. In 1973, he obtained a master's degree in economics from the university.

Career

After obtaining his bachelor's degree from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, he joined the Central Bureau of Statistics as an Assistant Statistical Officer. Following his studies at the

, Abbey joined 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 ...

as a lecturer in economics. From 1973 to 1974, he worked at the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...

(UNCTAD) in New York as a research fellow. Upon his return to Ghana in 1974, he appointed by the then Supreme Military Council (SMC) government to serve in the Economic Planning Commission while doubling as a government statistician and economist. Following the retirement of Robert K. A. Gardiner in May 1978, Abbey was appointed Commissioner for Economic Planning (now

Minister for Finance and Economic Planning The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is the Ghanaian government official responsible for the Ministry of Finance of Ghana. The Minister for Finance since January 2017 has been Ken Ofori-Atta, co-founder and former Chairman of the Databan ...

). He held this post until September 1979. In the

Limann government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Limann's People's National Party government during the Third Republic of Ghana. The Third Republic was inaugurated on 24 September 1979. It ended with the coup on 31 December 1981, which brought t ...

that lasted from 1979 to 1982, Abbey had no direct involvement in government administration, however, he was a member of the economic team that was responsible for the 1981–1982 budget that was rejected by parliament. According to parliament, the budget was "unrealistic and did not address the problems of the country". He later became the chairman of the Premier Bank and an economic consultant for the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP) and the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; french: link=no, Commission économique pour l'Afrique, CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its ...

(ECA). Following the 31 December 1981 coup d'état 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 ...

, Abbey was appointed member of the National Economic Review Committee, he served in this capacity from 1982 to 1983. In June 1983 he became the Executive Secretary of the Policy Monitoring and Implementation Committee, and also acting Secretary for Trade in 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 ...

(PNDC) government. During the 1983 drought period, he played a major role in launching ''Ghana's Economic Recovery Programme, 1983–1986'', a programme that advocated the use of orthodox financial and fiscal means to tackle the crippling economy. According to him "Ghana had been declared a "worst case situation" by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. But the Bank and the IMF were prepared to help in return for serious economic restructuring". He later requested for a diplomatic appointment and on 6 March 1984, he was appointed Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada. He held this post until 30 September 1986 when he was made Ghana's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. On 17 December 1990 he was appointed Ghana's Ambassador to the United States of America. He served in this capacity until 11 August 1994.

Personal life

Abbey is the son of Robert Mensah Abbey, a Ghanaian politician and Member of Parliament during the first republic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, Joseph Leo Seko Ambassadors of Ghana to the United States High Commissioners of Ghana to the United Kingdom Ghanaian diplomats 1940 births Living people Finance ministers of Ghana

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References