8 hours Ago By Ghana News
The Ministry of Finance is undoubtedly one of the most important Cabinet ministries, if not the most, that is tasked with ensuring the effective and efficient macroeconomic and financial management of Ghana’s economy. In layman’s terms, the ministry has the task of ensuring that Ghana’s economy does not collapse. As such, this ministry is filled with persons deemed by the president to have the economic and financial prowess to implement policies that would ensure the judicious use of the country’s resources to improve the livelihood of every Ghanaian.
These policies to manage the economy are outlined in the Budget and Economic Policy statement, which the finance minister presents at Parliament in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 21 of the Public Finance Management Act. Since the inception of the 4th Republic of Ghana, 11 men have done the honours of presenting the country’s budgets, just as the current finance minister, Dr Ato Forson did on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. An interesting fact about the country’s finance ministers is that only one out of the ten has managed to serve more than one term in office in the 4th republic.
Also, out of the 11 men, five (5) were Members of Parliament when they held the office of the Minister of Finance. Another mind-boggling fact is that not all these finance ministers are economic or finance gurus, as one may expect. They have various expertise from law, finance, economic and engineering.
Here are brief details of the men who have led Ghana’s Ministry of Finance in the Fourth Republic under the fourth republic. Under the Rawlings government: The government of the first president of the 4th Republic, the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, had two finance ministers. 1.
Dr Kwasi Botchwey: The late Dr Kwasi Botchwey was Rawlings’ first Minister of Finance. He served in the position from 1993 to 1995. Dr Kwasi Botchwey had a Bachelor of Law degree (LLB) from the University of Ghana, a Master’s degree in Law (LLM) from Yale Law School, and a doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School.
He taught at the University of Zambia, the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and the University of Ghana. The late Dr Botchwey was Minister of Finance in Ghana from 1982 to 1992 when Rawlings was the country’s military leader, making him the longest-serving finance minister the country has had. 2.
Richard Kwame Peprah: Richard Kwame Peprah, who was Ghana’s Minister of Mines and Energy from 1993 to 1995, took over from Dr Botchwey during Rawlings’ second term in office. He served as finance minister from 1995 to 2001. He also played key roles in Rawlings’ military government from 1983 to 1992.
Under Kufuor: The John Agyekum Kufuor government, which took over from Rawlings, appointed the most number of finance ministers in the 4th Republic – three (3). 1. Yaw Osafo-Maafo: Yaw Osafo-Maafo was the Minister of Finance during Kufuor’s first term from 2001 to 2005.
He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Oda when he was the Minister of Finance. Osafo-Maafo served as Kufuor’s Minister of Education and Sports during the former president’s second term. He also played key roles in the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo governments.
Osafo-Maafo, an engineer and banker, studied Mechanical Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). 2. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu: Former President Kufuor appointed Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu as the finance minister for his second term.
He served from 2005 until his demise in 2008. The late Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, like Osafo-Maafo, was a Member of Parliament when he was finance minister. He represented the people of Asante Akim North in the House.
He was the Minister of Education and Sports during Kufuor’s first term. He held a B.Sc.
in Administration and was also a chartered accountant. Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei: Kufuor appointed the late Dr.
Anthony Akoto Osei as finance minister after the demise of Kwadwo Baah Wiredu in 2007. He served in the role for the rest of the second term of the president. Dr.
Akoto Osei, like his predecessor, was a Member of Parliament, representing the Old Tafo Constituency. He was the third legislator to serve as a finance minister. Before his appointment as finance minister, Dr.
Akoto Osei was the Minister of State for Finance and Economic Planning. He also previously served as a Deputy Minister of Finance. He was the Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation under the Akufo-Addo regime.
He held a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, a Master of Arts degree in Applied Economics from American University, and a PhD in Economics from Howard University. Under Prof Mills: The late former President John Evans Atta Mills appointed just one Minister of Finance during his tenure, in the person of Dr Kwabena Duffuor. 1.
Dr Kwabena Duffuor: Dr Kwabena Duffuor served as finance minister from 2009 to 2012. Until he was appointed finance minister, Duffuor previously served as the Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 1997 to 2001. Dr Duffuor holds a B.
Sc. degree in Economics, an MBA in Finance and Banking, an MA in Economics, which he acquired in 1975, and a PhD in Economics. Under John Mahama: When President John Mahama won the 2012 election, he did not retain Dr Kwabena Duffuor as his finance minister.
Mahama appointed Seth Terkper as his Minister of Finance. 1. Seth Terkper: Seth Terkper served as Ghana’s finance minister from 2013 to 2016.
He was the deputy to Dr Kwabena Duffuor when he was the Minister of Finance. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm.
) from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Kennedy School, Harvard University. He is also a Chartered Accountant. Seth Terkper is currently the senior advisor on the economy of President John Dramani Mahama.
Under Akufo-Addo: Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the only president in the 4th Republic who had a finance minister serving more than one term. Ken Ofori-Atta: Ken Ofori-Atta, who was appointed finance minister by Akufo-Addo, served in both Akufo-Addo’s first and second terms, from 2017 to 2024. This makes Ofori-Atta the longest-serving finance minister in the country’s democratic dispensation.
Ofori-Atta, who is an economist and an investment banker, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Columbia University (1984) and an MBA from the Yale University School of Management. 2. Dr Mohammed Amin Adam: After President Akufo-Addo bowed to public pressure to sack Ofori-Atta, he appointed Dr Mohammed Amin Adam as finance minister, who served for about 11 months.
Dr Amin Adam, until his appointment as finance minister, was the Minister of State in charge of Finance. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Energy, responsible for the Petroleum Sector. The former minister, who is the Member of Parliament for Karaga, is the forth legislator to serve as Minister of Finance.
He holds a PhD in Petroleum Economics from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law, and Policy (CEPMLP) of the University of Dundee in the UK, an MPhil (Economics) and B.A. (Hons) Economics from the University of Cape Coast.
He is also a fellow of the Institute of Certified Economists of Ghana (ICEG). Under Mahama: President Mahama, in his second coming, appointed Dr Cassiel Ato Forson as his Minister of Finance in January 2025. Dr Cassiel Ato Forson: Dr Cassiel Ato Forson is the fifth Member of Parliament to lead the Ministry of Finance.
He is the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency. He was the Deputy Minister of Finance during Mahama’s first term. He holds a degree in Accounting from the South Bank University in London, a Master of Science in Taxation from the University of Oxford, a Master of Science degree in Economics from KNUST and a PhD in Business and Management (Finance option) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
He is the current Minister of Finance. BAI/AE Meanwhile, catch the first in the series of our special episodes on Forgotten Forts on People and Places on GhanaWeb TV below. This episode focuses on Fort Amsterdam at Abandze: Also, watch a compilation of today’s news in Twi here:.
