Joseph William Swain de Graft-Johnson (6 October 1933 – 22 April 1999) was a Ghanaian engineer, academic and politician. He served as

Vice-President of Ghana The vice-president of Ghana is the second-highest officer in the Government of Ghana. The vice-president, together with the President of Ghana, is directly elected by the people through popular vote to serve a four-year term in office. The vice- ...

from 1979 to 1981.

Early life and education

Joseph de Graft-Johnson was born on 6 October 1933 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 ...

, Gold Coast to Fante parents. He attended

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 ...

. He received his bachelor's degree in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

from the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. In 1960, he received a master's degree in

Highway Engineering Highway engineering is an engineering discipline branching from civil engineering that involves the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of roads, bridges, and tunnels to ensure safe and effective transportation of people and ...

from the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. He received his PhD in

Soil Mechanics Soil mechanics is a branch of soil physics and applied mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids (usually air and wat ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1965.

Career

He first worked with a London engineering firm, where his projects included the building of a Brazilian power plant and the extension of an airport in London. de Graft-Johnson practised as an engineer in Ghana. He was a lecturer at of 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 ...

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 the ...

and was later promoted to Senior Lecturer, then associate professor in 1968. In 1969, he became the Director of the Buildings and Roads Research Institute. In 1974, he was one of ten members appointed to the

Ghana Highways Authority The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) was established as a corporate body by GHA Degree 1974 (NRCD 298). NRCD 298 was repealed by GHA Act 1997 (Act 540 ) which, however, continued the Authority in existence with responsibility for the administration, ...

and later, sat on the board of directors. He was also one of the founding members of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), of which he was the President from 1977 to 1978. He was a consultant to the

Government of Zambia The politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Zambia is head of state, head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by th ...

where he advised on the set-up of the Building Research and Development Institute in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

Politics

During the era of military rule under the Supreme Military Council, he was involved in opposition to continued military rule as he was then President of the GhIE, one of many professional bodies in Ghana opposing the military government. He suffered personal attacks because of this. He was a member of the 1978 Constituent Assembly established to write the 1979 Constitution of the Third Republic. de Graft-Johnson joined the

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) when it was founded in 1979. This was after the ban on political parties imposed in 1972 by the

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 po ...

was lifted. The PNP won the elections and he became the first ever Vice President of Ghana 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 ...

. The government was overthrown by

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

on 31 December 1981. He left for exile in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

after the coup.

Personal life

He was married to Lily Anna Sekyi and they had 5 children.

Death

De Graft-Johnson died on 22 April 1999 in London at the age of 65. After his funeral service at the Wesley Methodist Cathedral, he was buried in

Publications

Literature

*de Graft Okyere, Letitia (2022) ''The First Vice President: A Biography of JWS de Graft-Johnson'' MacSwain Publishing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Graft Johnson, Joseph W. S. 1933 births 1999 deaths Fante people Vice-presidents of Ghana Leaders ousted by a coup Academic staff of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology People's National Party (Ghana) politicians 20th-century Ghanaian engineers Ghanaian Methodists Mfantsipim School alumni Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of Birmingham UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni