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All you need to know about the late Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has lost one of its stalwarts, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei.

Dr Anthony Akoto Osei

The former Member of Parliament (MP) for Old Tafo Constituency of the Ashanti Region died at age 64.

He died on Monday, March 20, 2023, after he has been unwell for some time now.

Anthony Akoto Osei was a Ghanaian banker and politician.

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Osei was in the cabinet of President John Agyekum Kufuor as Minister of State for Finance and Economic Planning. He was a member of Parliament for the electoral district of Old Tafo in the Ashanti region.

Osei was born in Sunyani, the capital of Bono Region then Brong Ahafo Region on April 18, 1953.

He had his secondary-level education at Achimota School and Opoku Ware Senior High School. He furthered at Oberlin College in Ohio where he obtained a bachelor's degree in economics.

He has a Master of Arts degree in Applied Economics from the American University in the USA.

He also graduated from Howard University in 1987 with a Ph.D. in economics.

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Osei was an Economist by profession.

On March 27, 2002, Osei became a member of the management board of Merchant Bank (Ghana) Ltd.

Previously, he worked as an associate professor at Dillard University (USA) and previously as a research assistant at the Center for Policy Analysis in Ghana.

Osei worked as deputy minister for Finance and Economic Planning in May 2003 and was a major economic adviser to the government.

He was elevated to substantive Minister for Finance and Economic Planning after the death of the then Minister Kwadwo Baah Wiredu.

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He served in that role until January 6, 2009, when the government was handed over to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which had won the 2008 general elections.

In February 2017, Osei was sworn in as Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation after being nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and going through the vetting process in Parliament.

The ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation was a newly created Ministry to evaluate, monitor and plan review summits and forums in fulfillment of the government's policies on evaluating the progress of its own ministries.

In May 2017, Nana Addo named him as part of the nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet.

The names of the 19 ministers were submitted to the Parliament of Ghana and announced by the Speaker of the House, Prof. Mike Ocquaye.

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As a Cabinet minister, Akoto Osei was part of the inner circle of the president and aided in key decision-making activities in the country.

Other positions held

He worked at the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), Accra; Consultant to the World Bank (Korean Division), 1987; Associate professor in Economics at Howard Universities from 1984 to 1995; Special Adviser, MFEP, 2001–2003; Deputy Minister for Finance, 2003–2007; Minister of State, 2007–2008; Acting Minister of Finance, September 2008 - 6 January 2009; MP (January 2005 to date - 4th term)

Elections won

Osei was elected as the member of parliament for the Old Tafo constituency of the Ashanti Region of Ghana for the first time in the 2004 Ghanaian general elections.

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He won the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

His constituency was a part of the 36 parliamentary seats out of 39 seats won by the New Patriotic Party in that election for the Ashanti Region.

The NPP won a majority total of 128 parliamentary seats out of 230 seats.

He was elected with 34,957 votes out of 44,000 total valid votes cast

This was equivalent to 79.4% of the total valid votes cast.

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He was elected over Salu Ibrahim of the National Democratic Congress, Andrews K. Asamoah-Akoto of the Convention People's Party, and Amediku Dominic D. Quarshie an independent candidate.

These obtained 7,116, 426, and 1,501 votes respectively of the total valid votes cast. These were equivalent to 16.2%, 1%, and 3.4% respectively of the total valid votes cast.

In 2008, he won the general elections on the ticket of the NPP for the same constituency.

His constituency was part of the 34 parliamentary seats out of 39 seats won by the NPP in that election for the Ashanti Region.

The New Patriotic Party won a minority total of 109 parliamentary seats out of 230 seats.

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He was elected with 36,171 votes out of 47,478 total valid votes cast.

This was equivalent to 76.18% of the total valid votes cast.

He was elected over Swallah Ali of the PNC, Dominic Kwabena Anomah of the NDC, Issah Abdul Salam of the CPP, and Mohammed Rabui Umar of the Reformed Patriotic Democrats.

These obtained 427, 10,386, 375, and 119 votes respectively out of the total valid votes cast.

These were equivalent to 37.59%, 5.43%, and 1.28% respectively of the total votes cast.

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In 2012, he won the general elections once again for the same constituency.

He was elected with 43,561 votes out of 57,478 total valid votes cast.

This was equivalent to 75.79% of the total valid votes cast.

He was elected over Memuna Kabore Abu-Bakr Siddique of the NDC, Faruk Muhammed Tankoh of PNC, and Issah Abdul Salam of the CPP.

These obtained 13,454, 149, and 314 votes respectively of the total valid votes cast.

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These were equivalent to 23.41%, 0.26%, and 0.55% respectively of the total votes cast.

He is a Christian Catholic. He is married with three children.

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