Kofi Abrefa Busia
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| Kofi Abrefa Busia | |
 Kofi Abrefa Busia |
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Prime Minister
2nd Republic of Ghana |
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| In office October 1, 1969 – January 13, 1972 |
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| President | Brigadier Akwasi Afrifa 3 Apr 1969 - 7 Aug 1970 Nii Amaa Ollennu 7 Aug 1970 - 31 Aug 1970 Edward Akufo-Addo 31 Aug 1970 - 13 Jan 1972 |
| Preceded by | Brigadier Akwasi Afrifa (Presidential Commission) |
| Succeeded by | Colonel Acheampong (Military coup d'état) |
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| Born | July 11, 1913 Wenchi, Ghana |
| Died | August 28, 1978 (aged 65) Oxford, UK |
| Political party | Progress Party |
| Spouse | Mrs. Naa Morkor Busia |
| Profession | Academic |
| Religion | Christian |
| Elected following military rule and overthrown by military regime | |
Kofi Abrefa Busia (11 July 1913 - 28 August 1978) was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969-72. He was born in Wenchi, in the then British colony of Gold Coast (now called Ghana). He was educated at Methodist School, Wenchi, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, then at Wesley College, Kumasi from 1931-32. He later became a teacher at Achimota Secondary School. He gained his first degree with Honours in Medieval and Modern History from the University of London, through correspondence during this period. He then went on to study at University College, Oxford, where he was the college's first African student. He took a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (1941, MA) 1946) and a DPhil in Social Anthropology in 1947, with a thesis entitled The position of the chief in the modern political system of Ashanti: a study of the influence of contemporary social changes on Ashanti political institutions.
He served as a district commissioner from 1942 to 1949, and was appointed first lecturer in African Studies. He became the first African to occupy a Chair at the University of Gold Coast. In 1951 he was elected by the Ashanti Confederacy to the Legislative Council. In 1952 he was Leader of Ghana Congress Party[1] which later merged with the other opposition parties to form the United Party (UP).
As leader of the opposition against Kwame Nkrumah, he fled the country on the grounds that his life was under threat. He later became a Professor of Sociology and Culture at the University of Leiden in the Hague, Netherlands. From 1962 until 1969 he was a Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford.
He returned to Ghana in March 1966 after Nkrumah's government was overthrown by the military, and was appointed as the Chairman of the National Advisory Committee of the NLC. In 1967/1968 he served as the Chairman of the Centre for Civic Education. He used this opportunity and sold himself as the next Leader. He also was a Member of the Constitutional Review Committee. When the NLC lifted the ban on politics, Busia, together with friends in the defunct UP formed the Progress Party (PP)[1].
In 1969, PP won the parliamentary elections with 104 of the 105 seats contested. This paved the way for him to become the next Prime Minister. Busia continued with NLC's anti-Nkrumaist stance and adopted a liberalised economic system. There was a mass deportation of half a million of Nigerian citizens from Ghana, and a 44 percent devaluation of the cedi in 1971 which met with a lot of resistance from the public.
While in Britain for a medical check-up, the army under Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong overthrew his government on January 13, 1972. He died from a heart attack in 1978.
Along with J.B. Danquah, Busia's name is associated with Ghana's political right. The New Patriotic Party has claimed the Danquah-Busiaist mantle in the Fourth Republic.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Ghana:Political Parties. Encyclopaedias of the Nations. Thomson Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-04-15.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Akwasi Afrifa Military Head of State |
Prime Minister of Ghana 1969 – 1972 |
Succeeded by Ignatius Kutu Acheampong Military Head of State |
| Parliament of Ghana | ||
| New title | Leader of the Opposition 1952 – ? |
Succeeded by ? |
| Parliament suspended by military | Member of Parliament for Wenchi East 1969 – 19721 |
Parliament suspended after military coup |
| Party political offices | ||
| New title | Leader of the Ghana Congress Party 1952 – 1957 |
Succeeded by ? |
| New title | Leader of the United Party 1957 – ? |
Succeeded by ? |
| New title | Leader of the Progress Party 1969 – 1972 |
Parties banned after coup |
| Notes and references | ||
| 1. Ghana@50 | ||
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Busia, Kofi Abrefa |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Academic, politician and Prime Minister of Ghana (1969 - 1972) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 11 July 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wenchi, Ghana |
| DATE OF DEATH | 28 August 1978 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Oxford, UK |
