Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng (born February 12, 1969) is 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 the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

civil engineer, economist, and politician. He is a two term

Member of 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 o ...

for Obuasi West constituency 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 ...

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 ...

. He is a member of Ghana's

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 ...

and a deputy minister of finance.

Life

Early life

Kwaku Kwarteng was born on February 12, 1969, in

Kokofu Kokofu is a town in the Bekwai Municipal district, a district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. History There are many variations on the origin of Kokofu. The following information is taken from Ghana Place Names. 1. "When Kobia Anguanfi came t ...

in the

. He attended 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 ...

in nearby

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 t ...

, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science 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, sewa ...

in 1996. He later obtained a Master of Science degree also in civil engineering from the same university in 2013. He also has an M.A. in Economic Policy Management from 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 ...

in 2009.

Career

Much of the working life of Kwaku Kwarteng has been in politics. He served as the

Government of Ghana The Government of Ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy, followed by alternating military and civilian governments in Ghana. In January 1993, military government gave way to the Fourth Republic after presidential and parliamentary electi ...

spokesperson on finance from 2006 to 2009. When the

John Agyekum Kufour John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been spe ...

administration left power in 2009, he became a policy advisor for the New Patriotic Party from 2010 to 2013. In 2011 he was elected as the

candidate to contest the newly created Obuasi West constituency. In the 2012 General elections, he contested against John Alexander Ackon of the National Democratic Congress, Abubakar Sadick Iddris of the Progressive People's Party, Ayishetu Tahiru of the National Democratic Party, Mohammed Issifu of the People's National Convention, and the independent candidate Isaac Fordjour. Kwarteng obtained 31,101 votes out of the 48,254 valid votes cast, which represented 64.45% of all votes cast. While in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, he has served on several committees including Communications Committee and Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee. In January 2017, President

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 ...

nominated Kwarteng and Charles Adu Boahen to become the deputy ministers of finance. They were to work under Ken Ofori-Atta. Kwarteng was vetted by the Appointments Committee of Parliament in March 2017. During his vetting, he claimed that the

John Dramani Mahama John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as pres ...

administration had left outstanding arrears of 7 billion cedis owed various institutions in the country. The minority discredited the claim saying there was no such debt. Kwarteng also restated the government's desire to bring down the

interest rate An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...

. The committee approved him for the position for which he had been appointed. In the 2016 Ghana general elections, he won the parliamentary seat with 32,049 votes whilst the NDC parliamentary aspirant John Alexander Ackon had 11,587 votes. In the 2020 Ghana general elections, he won the parliamentary seat with 33,383 votes whilst the NDC parliamentary aspirant Faustilove Appiah Kannin had 15,141 votes. He is also the Deputy Minister for Finance.

Committees

He served as a member in the Finance Committee and also in the Poverty Reduction Committee. While in

, he has served on several committees including Communications Committee. He is currently the Chairperson of the Finance Committee and also a member of the Communications Committee.

Personal life

Kwarteng is married with three children. He identifies as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwarteng, Kwaku Living people Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017 Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021 New Patriotic Party politicians Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni University of Ghana alumni People from Ashanti Region Ghanaian civil engineers 21st-century Ghanaian economists 1969 births St. Peter's Boys Senior High School alumni Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025