Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta (born 7 November 1958), 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 Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

ian investment banker who serves as the

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 Databa ...

in the cabinet of Nana Akufo-Addo. He was a co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian financial services company, and served as executive chairman until 2012, when he resigned. He was nominated by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 ...

on 10 January 2017 and assumed office on 27 January 2017 as finance minister.

Early life and education

Ofori-Atta was born on 7 November 1958 in Kibi, a town in the Eastern Region of

. He is a member of the Ofori-Atta family. He is the son of the economist and politician Jones Ofori Atta. Ofori-Atta attended

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 w ...

for his O-Level and A-Level certificate received in 1976 and 1978 respectively. He taught mathematics temporarily at

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a non-denominational day and boarding boys' school. It is located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region. The school was established as a private secondary educational institution in 1931 and gained the status o ...

in the period after his

A-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 ...

at Achimota. In August 1980, Ofori-Atta was enrolled in Columbia University for a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Economics. He graduated from Columbia in 1984 and worked at

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fi ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

. He studied for and received an MBA from the

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...

School of Management in 1988 and went to work for the investment bank,

Salomon Brothers Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York. It was one of the five largest investment banking enterprises in the United States and the most profitable firm on Wall Street duri ...

.Kwasi Kpodo (January 8, 2017)
Ghana's new president to name investment banker as finance minister
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was establ ...

''.

Finance career

Ofori-Atta co-founde
Databank Financial Services
with Keli Gadzekpo and

Togbe Afede XIV Togbe Afede XIV (born James Akpo on 23 April 1957) is the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, President of Asogli Traditional Area, and former President of the National House of Chiefs. Early life and education Togbe Afede XIV was born as Jam ...

in 1990; he served as its executive chairman until 14 February 2012 when he went on retirement. He has other business interests in Insurance, Retail Banking, Private Equity, Micro-finance, Pharmaceuticals and Real Estate. In 1996, Ofori-Atta was the first African to testify at the US Congress Ways and Means Committee to support the

African Growth and Opportunity Act The African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA (Title I, Trade and Development Act of 2000; P.L. 106–200) is a piece of legislation that was approved by the U.S. Congress in May 2000. The stated purpose of this legislation is to assist th ...

. Ofori-Atta served as a director for numerous companies and as a member of some other boards as well. He was a Director for Enterprise Group Ltd and Trust Bank Ltd of The

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

of which he is the chairman. He also was a Director at the International Bank and is also a board member of the

Acumen Fund Acumen (formerly known as Acumen Fund, legally Acumen Fund, Inc.) is a nonprofit impact investment fund focused on investing in social enterprises that serve low-income individuals in United States. Acumen was founded in April 2001 by Jacquelin ...

Political career

Ofori-Atta was President

’s nominee to assess the health of the economy during the transition period after the

2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic * 2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 ...

. In May 2017, Akufo-Addo named Ken Ofori-Atta as part of nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet. The names of the 19 ministers were submitted to 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, ...

and was announced by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Ocquaye. As a cabinet minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is an integral part of the inner circle of the president of

, and is to aid in the key decision-making activities in the country. Ofori-Atta was elected Chair of the World Bank/IMF Development Committee at the 2018 Spring Meetings and also Chairs the Governing Board of African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). In addition, he Chairs the African Caucus at the World Bank. In November 2022, a motion of censure was started to remove Ken from office due to the decline of Ghana's economy, leading to the country's currency being ranked as one of the worst in the World. If successful, he will be removed as Minister of state On the 10th of January 2023, Ofori-Atta was appointed caretaker minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry following the resignation of Alan John Kyerematen.

Other activities

* Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, Chair (since 2018) *

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies in ...

(AfDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) * ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) * Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA),

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) *

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 ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) * Chairman of the Board of Governors for The African Capacity Building Foundation(ACBF)

Awards and recognition

Ofori-Atta is a Henry Crown fellow of the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

. He was adjudged as the 2nd most respected C.E.O in

. Ken is a ''Donaldson Fellow'' at

in 2010 and a recipient of the John Jay Award from Columbia University in 2011. He is a co-founder of the Aspen Africa Leadership Initiative. He was honored by PricewaterhouseCoppers Ghana twice as one of the Top 5 Most Respected CEOs in Ghana. In May 2018, he was adjudged Best Africa Finance Minister of the year by London-based magazine ''

The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by ''The Financial Times'' Ltd. and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding Editor, Brend ...

''. He was named one of Africa's most politically connected bankers by ''

The Africa Report ''The Africa Report'' is an English-language quarterly magazine that focuses on African politics and economics. History and profile Created in 2005 by Paris-based Jeune Afrique Media Group, ''The Africa Report'' is edited by Africa Confidentia ...

'' in 2021.

Personal life

Ofori-Atta is married to Professor Angela Lamensdorf Ofori-Atta, a clinical psychologist at the

University of Ghana Medical School The University of Ghana Medical School also UGMS is the medical school of Ghana's first public research institution, the University of Ghana. It is currently located at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. The medical school was first plann ...

. The couple have four children.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ofori-Atta, Ken 1959 births Living people Akan people Columbia College (New York) alumni Yale School of Management alumni Alumni of Achimota School New Patriotic Party politicians Cabinet Ministers of Ghana Finance ministers of Ghana People from Eastern Region (Ghana)

Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...