Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu (previously known as Lawrence Addae and born on 3 February 1957) 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 urban planner and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He is currently the majority leader in the Ghanaian Parliament and also the Minister Designate for Parliamentary Affairs in Ghana.

Early life and education

Osei was born on 3 February 1957. He hails from Bremang-Afrancho, a town 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 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 ...

. In 1982, he graduated from 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 ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Planning.

Political career

Osei is a member of the

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

. He first became a

Member of the Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...

in January 1997. He has kept his seat since then, representing his constituency in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana. He is the chairperson for the Special Budget, House, and Business Committees. He is also a member of the Finance, Mines and Energy, Standing Orders, and Selection Committees.

Elections

1996 Parliamentary Elections

Osei was first elected into Parliament during the 1996 Ghanaian General Elections on the Ticket of the New Patriotic Party representing the Suame Constituency in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He polled 47,455 votes out of the 64,394 valid votes cast representing 57.40% against Paul Yeboah an NDC member who polled 10,828 votes, Azong Alhassan a PNC member who polled 3,219 votes and Habiba Atta a CPP member who polled 2,892 votes.

2004 Parliamentary Elections

Osei was elected as the member of parliament for the Suame constituency of the

in the 2004 Ghanaian general elections. He won on the ticket of the

. His constituency was a part of the 36 parliamentary seats out of 39 seats won by the

in that election for the

. The

won a majority total of 128 parliamentary seats out of 230 seats. He was elected with 48,500 votes out of 59,039 total valid votes cast. This was equivalent to 82.1% of total valid votes cast. He was elected over Agonno Sampson Young of the People's National Convention, Paul Richard Kofi Yeboah of the National Democratic Congress and Frederick Antwi of the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Conven ...

. These obtained 934, 8,448 and 1,157 votes respectively of total valid votes cast. These were equivalent to 1.6%, 14.3% and 2% respectively of total valid votes cast.

2008 Parliamentary Elections

In 2008, he won the general elections on the ticket of the

for the same constituency. His constituency was part of the 34 parliamentary seats out of 39 seats won by the

in that election for the

. The

won a minority total of 109 parliamentary seats out of 230 seats. He was elected with 45,235 votes out of 57,765 total valid votes cast. This was equivalent to 78.31% of total valid votes cast. He was elected over David Osei Manu of the National Democratic Congress, Ameyaw Aboagye Peter of Democratic People's Party and Frederick Antwi-Nsiah of the

. These obtained 9,742, 2,409 and 379 votes respectively of the total valid votes cast. These were equivalent to 37.59%, 5.43% and 1.28% respectively of the total votes cast.

2012 Parliamentary Elections

In 2012, he won the general elections on the ticket of the

for the same constituency. He was elected with 60,829 votes out of 76,852 total valid votes cast. This was equivalent to 79.15% of total valid votes cast. He was elected over Alidu Baba Dambasea of the National Democratic Congress, Solomon Nkrumah Appia Kubi of the Progressive People's Party, Adam Mohammed of the People's National Convention, Frederick Antwi-Nsiah of the

, Mavis Afriyie of the Democratic People's Party, Abena Nyarko of the National Democratic Party, Osei-Bempah Hayford and Paul Richard Kofi Yeboah both independent candidates. These obtained 10,589, 434, 376, 220, 71, 194, 3,752 and 387 votes respectively of the total valid votes cast. These were equivalent to 13.78%, 0.56%, 0.49%, 0.29%, 0.09%, 0.25%, 4.88% and 0.50% respectively of the total votes cast. Whilst his party was in opposition he served as the minority leader of the Ghanaian parliament from 2013 to 2017.

2020 Parliamentary Elections

He again contested the

2020 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2020. Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was re-elected in the first round after securing a majority of the votes. Former President John Dramani Mahama says he ...

as the parliamentary candidate for the

. Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu contested with four other which includes Dodoovi Francis of the National Democratic Congress , the Convention People's Party Sulemana Mohammed, All People Congress, Mohammed Mubarak and the Independent candidate. At the end of the polls, the Incumbent Member of Parliament for Suame, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu won the seat again for the New Patriotic Party NPP with 67,095 votes representing 76.1%, the National Democratic Congress NDC candidate Dodoovi Francis gathered 9,312 votes representing 10.6% of total valid votes cast. While the

Sulemana Mohammed manage with 299 votes which means he gathered 0.3% of the total valid votes cast. All People Congress also had 213 votes making 0.2% of the total vote cast. Finally the Independent candidate George Prempeh also came second with 11,217 votes making 12.7%of the total vote cast.

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Elections

Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, was elected by the Executive Committee of the

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head of ...

(CPA) as its new acting

Vice-Chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was handed the top job after a successful election that saw him beat New Zealand’s Garry Brownlee, his only contender.

Suggested naming rights

Prior to the completion of the Parliament's

Job 600 Job 600 is a Government building in Accra, Ghana. The post-independence structure, which is just behind the Parliament House, was commissioned by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, in 1965. The building underwent massive renovat ...

building, Mensah Bonsu proposed the renaming of the main Job 600 building. He suggested the building be named after the first speaker of Ghana's fourth parliament, Justice D. F. Annan, to honour the contribution he made towards the development of parliamentary affairs and democracy in Ghana. He also proposed that one of the two new blocks built behind the main Job 600 be named after

Peter Ala Adjetey Peter Ala Adjetey (11 August 1931 – 15 July 2008) was the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana from 2001 to 2005. Early life Peter Ala Adjetey was born on 11 August 1931 at Accra, the capital of Ghana. He obtained his basic education at St. P ...

, who succeeded Justice Annan. Opposition to these naming issues was led by members of the

, who believed renaming Job 600 would erase the contributions of

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

from Ghanaian history.

Personal life

Osei is married with eight children. He is a Christian who worships at the

Assemblies of God Church The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonsu, Osei Kyei Mensah Living people 1957 births Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017 New Patriotic Party politicians Ghanaian MPs 2009–2013 Ghanaian MPs 2005–2009 Ghanaian MPs 2001–2005 Ghanaian MPs 1997–2001 Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni People from Ashanti Region Ghanaian Christians St. Peter's Boys Senior High School alumni