Samuel Antwi Kwaku Bonsu also known by the name Solomon Antwi Kwaku Bonsu was 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 in the first republic. He was the Minister of Co-operatives and later Minister of Pensions and National Insurance. He was also the member of parliament for the Sekyere West constituency from 1959 to 1965 and the member of parliament for the Adotobri constituency from 1965 to 1966.

Early life and education

Bonsu was born on 21 November 1921 at Asante Mampong in 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 ...

. After completing his Standard Seven, he entered the

Presbyterian College of Education The Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong, is a co-educational teacher-training college in Akropong in the Akwapim district of the Eastern Region of Ghana. It has gone through a series of previous names, including the Presbyterian Training ...

(then the Presbyterian Training College) where he obtained his Teachers' Certificate 'A'. He later continued at the Theological Seminary at

Akropong Akropong is a town in South Ghana and is the capital of the Akuapim North District, a district in the Eastern Region of South Ghana. This town is known for producing snails and palm oil.

graduating in 1941. In 1954 he studied to obtain his GCE Advanced Level certificate prior to proceeding to the United Kingdom to study law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, London. He was called to the bar as a barrister-at-law in 1957.

life and politics

Bonsu begun as a teacher at the

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 ...

Presbyterian Middle School before joining the Kumasi branch of U. T. C. as a Departmental Store Manager. Bonsu became a private legal practitioner in 1959, and on 12 June that same year, he was sworn into office as the member parliament for the Sekyere West constituency. This was as a result of the seat being vacant due to a law in parliament at the time that deprived members of parliament of their seat if they were unable to be present in parliament for ten (10) consecutive days. The former occupant of the seat;

R. R. Amponsah Reginald Reynolds Amponsah (30 December 1919 – 3 June 2009) was a pottery, potter and Ghanaian politician of the first Parliament of the Second Republic representing the Mampong North Constituency in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He was a Minis ...

fell victim to this fate as he was detained while being trialled at the time for allegedly plotting with M. K. Apaloo to overthrow Nkrumah. He was appointed deputy minister for Justice in 1960 and a year later, he was appointed Chief of State Protocol for the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

when she visited

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 ...

. Bonsu served as the deputy minister for Justice from 1960 to January 1965 when he was appointed Minister of Co-operatives by the then president Dr.

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 ...

. In June that same year, he was moved to head the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance. A month later, he was made member of parliament for the Adotobri constituency. He served in these capacities in the

Nkrumah government Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister and first President of Ghana. Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first government under colonial r ...

until Nkrumah was overthrown in February 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonsu, SolomonAntwi Kwaku 1921 births Ghanaian MPs 1956–1965 Ghanaian MPs 1965–1966 Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians 20th-century Ghanaian politicians Possibly living people Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom

Early life and education

life and politics

See also

References