Prof. Kwesi Botchwey was the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning between 1982 and 1995, one of the most turbulent and economically significant periods in the nation’s history. A lawyer by training, he had his education at the Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School (PRESEC) and the University of Ghana before proceeding to the University of Michigan Law School. His school days were marked by activism and he was known as one of the leaders of the youthful resistance to economic mismanagement and human rights abuses that characterized the 1970s.
When the Provisional National Defence Council was set up in the wake of the overthrow of the Liman government, Dr Botchwey was appointed Minister of Finance and began a search for solutions to the dire economic situation in the country. While his politics was left-wing, he proved an adept pragmatic as an economist and led a successful advocacy for a return to the Bretton Woods Institutions that many in the new administration were set against. The resulting raft of measures agreed with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) put the country back on the path to growth, but caused some short term pain that Dr Botchwey was blamed for. Nevertheless, his reputation as a competent economist prevailed until his resignation in 1995. In 2004, he challenged Professor Evans Atta Mills for the right to lead the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the elections but was unsuccessful. He remains active in the affairs of the NDC and is widely respected by those in and outside of the party.
