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Joseph Henry Mensah

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Hon.
Joseph Henry Mensah
Prime MinisterKofi Abrefa Busia
Member of the Ghana Parliament
for Sunyani East
In office
7 January 2005 – 6 January 2009
PresidentJohn Kufuor
Member of Parliament for Sunyani East Constituency
In office
7 January 2001 – 6 January 2005
PresidentJohn Kufuor
Member of Parliament for Sunyani East Constituency
In office
7 January 1997 – 6 January 2001
Finance Minister
In office
1969–1972
PresidentEdward Akufo-Addo
Preceded byEmmanuel Noi Omaboe
Succeeded byIgnatius Kutu Acheampong
Personal details
Born(1928-10-31)31 October 1928
Gold Coast
Died12 July 2018(2018-07-12) (aged 89)
Accra, Ghana
Resting placeMilitary Cemetery, Burma Camp, Accra, Ghana
NationalityGhanaianGhana 
Political partyNew Patriotic Party
Relations
Alma materUniversity of the Gold Coast (now the University of Ghana)

Achimota School University of London

Stanford University
Profession

Joseph Henry Mensah (31 October 1928 – 12 July 2018)[1][2] was a Ghanaian politician and economist.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Education

J. H. Mensah attended St Peter’s Cathedral School in Kumasi between 1934 and 1941 and then Achimota School in Accra, matriculating in 1947. He proceeded to the University of the Gold Coast (now the University of Ghana) in Legon, where he was in the pioneer 1948 group of students, and studied there until 1954, earning a Bachelor’s degree in economics. He then enrolled with the London School of Economics of the University of London in England and Stanford University in California, where he earned a Master’s degree, specialising in economic theory and development. In 1954, Mensah became a research fellow in economics at the University of Ghana (then still the University of the Gold Coast), a position he held until 1958.[1]

Political career

Mensah began working as an assistant inspector of taxes in 1953 while the Gold Coast was still under colonial rule.[9][10] In 1958, he joined the United Nations Secretariat at the Centre for Development Planning, Projections and Policies in New York City, United States.[11] He returned to Ghana in 1961 as the head of agency at the National Planning Commission.[12] The National Planning Commission drafted and implemented Ghana’s Seven-Year Development Plan (1963/64–1969–70).[13] In 1969, he was elected to parliament and became first the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and then the Finance Minister in the Busia government until 1972,[1][14][15] when he was replaced by the future head of state Ignatius Kutu Acheampong after a coup d’état by the Ghana Armed Forces.[16][17]

Elections

Mensah represented the Sunyani East constituency in the second, third and fourth parliaments of the Republic of Ghana.[18]

2000 election

In the year 2000, Mensah stood in the general election for the third parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana and won the seat of Member of Parliament for Sunyani East in the Brong-Ahafo Region. He stood on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, the successor to the Progress Party of the Second Republic. His constituency was among the 14 parliamentary seats out of 21 won by the New Patriotic Party in that election in Brong-Ahafo.[19][20] The New Patriotic Party won a majority in parliament with 100 seats in total out of 200 in the third parliament.[19] Mensah was elected with 27,756 votes out of 43,128 total valid votes cast.[21] This was equivalent to 65.1% of the total valid votes cast. He was elected over Captain (rtd) F Adu Kwaku Nkrumah of the National Democratic Congress, Shiekh Mustapha Abdulah of the Convention People's Party, Moses Owusu-Yeboah of the People's National Convention, Boachie Amankwa of the United Ghana Movement and Boniface Kojo Mensah of the National Reform Party. These rival candidates won 11,550, 1,269, 1,039, 592 and 427 votes, respectively, out of the total valid votes cast: equivalent to 27.1%, 3.0%, 2.4%, 1.4% and 1.0%, respectively, of the vote.[21][22]

2004 election

Mensah was re-elected as the MP for Sunyani East for the fourth parliament in the 2004 Ghanaian general election.[23][24] He won 32,035 votes out of 53,972 total valid votes cast[23][24] (equivalent to 59.40% of total valid votes cast).[23][24] He was elected over Justice Samuel Adjei of the National Democratic Congress, Cubagee Raphael – an independent candidate, Rev Nana Adjei-Ntow – also an independent candidate, Theophilus Kwame Chartey of the Convention People's Party, Awuah Philip of the Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere Party and A A Boasiako of the Democratic People’s Party.[23][24] These six candidates obtained 17,860 votes, 1,478 votes, 998 votes, 674 votes, 581 votes and 346 votes, respectively, out of the total valid votes cast:[23][24] equivalent to 33.10%, 2.70%, 1.80%, 1.20%, 1.10% and 0.60% of all valid votes.[23][24] Mensah secured his re-election on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party.[23][24] In the 2004 election, his constituency was one of 14 out of 24 constituencies in the Brong Ahafo region won by the New Patriotic Party[25][26] or NPP. In all, the NPP won a majority of 128 out of 230 parliamentary seats in the fourth parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.[25]

Post-1972 coup

Beginning in 1974, Mensah worked in the private sector both in Ghana and abroad.[1] He was imprisoned by the National Redemption Council from 1975 to 1978. Although banned from political activity in 1979, he was active for the Popular Front Party in the 1979 elections.[27] He also served as Chairman of the Sunyani District Council in the Brong-Ahafo Region (1979–1981) and was the proprietor of Banka Farms. Exiled in England from 1982 onwards, he led a group opposing the PNDC.[27] He also served on the African Advisory Council of the African Development Bank from 1993 to 1997.[28] In December 1996, Mensah stood as a member of the New Patriotic Party for a parliamentary seat in Sunyani East, which he won. He was re-elected in 2000. Before John Kufuor’s election in 2001, Mensah was the Minority Leader in Parliament from 1997 to 2001.[29][30] In addition, he served as Minister and Leader of Government Business from 2001 to 2003; Minister for Public Sector Reform and the National Institutional Renewal Programme from 2003 to 2005, as well as Senior Minister from 2005 to 2006, all under the two Kufuor-led governments.[31]

Personal life and family

He was the older brother of the former First Lady Theresa Kufuor.[32]

Death and state funeral

J. H. Mensah died on Thursday 12 July 2018 at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra after a protracted illness, having suffered a stroke a year earlier.[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] He was accorded a state funeral by the Government of Ghana on Friday 17 August 2018 at the Accra International Conference Centre and buried at the new Military Cemetery at Burma Camp.[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Joseph Henry Mensah, New Patriotic Party Founding Member". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. ^ "J.H. Mensah dies at 89". Graphic Online. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  3. ^ "President Akufo-Addo, Bawumia, ex presidents pay last respects to late J.H Mensah". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  4. ^ "J.H. Mensah loved democracy profoundly – Akufo-Addo". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  5. ^ "JH Mensah was a brilliant economist – Minority". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Veteran politician J.H Mensah has died". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  7. ^ "JH Mensah was Ghana's best economist – Bawumia". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  8. ^ "DOSSIER: J.H Mensah is dead". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  9. ^ "J.H. Mensah unmatched – Ofori-Atta". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Learn from J. H. Mensah if you want to succeed – OB Amoah to MPs". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  11. ^ "NPP mourns J.H Mensah, directs all party flags to fly at half-mast". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  12. ^ "J.H. Mensah left an 'indelible mark' – Rawlings". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Parliament eulogises J.H. Mensah". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  14. ^ "How J.H Mensa tried to save the Progress Party Government of 1969-72". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  15. ^ "J.H. Mensah, the granddaddy of UP/NPP passes on at 89". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  16. ^ Turner, B. The Statesman's Yearbook 2007: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World, Springer, 2017, ISBN 0230271359
  17. ^ "NPP mourns J.H. Mensah; party flags to fly at half mast". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  18. ^ "Joseph Henry Mensah, New Patriotic Party Founding Member". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Statistics of Presidential and Parliamentary Election Results". Fact Check Ghana. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  20. ^ FM, Peace. "Ghana Election 2000 Results - Brong Ahafo Region". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  21. ^ a b Electoral Commission of Ghana - Parliamentary Result-Election 2000. Ghana: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. 2007. p. 14.
  22. ^ FM, Peace. "Ghana Election 2004 Results - Sunyani East Constituency". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g Peace FM. "Ghana Election 2004 Results - Sunyani East Constituency". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g Elections 2004; Ghana's Parliamentary and Presidential Elections. Ghana: Electoral Commission of Ghana; Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. 2005. p. 136.
  25. ^ a b "Statistics of Presidential and Parliamentary Election Results". Fact Check Ghana. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  26. ^ Peace FM. "Ghana Election 2004 Results - Brong Ahafo Region". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  27. ^ a b McFarland, Daniel Miles (1995). Historical Dictionary of Ghana. Scarecrow Press. p. 121.
  28. ^ "J.H Mensah was a great Ghanaian politician and a statesman". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  29. ^ "Parliament approves new Majority Leader". modernghana.com. 16 October 2001. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Parliament breaks for JH Mensah". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  31. ^ "Rawlings wishes J.H. Mensah peaceful rest". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  32. ^ a b "Profile of the late Joseph Henry Mensah". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  33. ^ "Selfless J. H. Mensah helped affirm my convictions – Akufo-Addo". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  34. ^ "J.H. Mensah to get state burial on August 17". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  35. ^ "JH Mensah's Demise: I've lost trusted Counsellor – Akufo-Addo". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  36. ^ "10 things to know about JH Mensah". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  37. ^ "MPs eulogize late J.H. Mensah". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  38. ^ "J.H. Mensah will be duly honoured – Akufo-Addo promises as he mourns late statesman". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  39. ^ "J. H. Mensah's Death: Family unhappy with media for breaking news". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  40. ^ "State burial for J.H. Mensah on August 17". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  41. ^ "J.H Mensah died a pauper – Ambassador D.K Osei". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  42. ^ "Kofi Annan's tribute to late J.H Mensah". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  43. ^ "President, many others bid J.H. Mensah farewell". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  44. ^ "JH Mensah goes home today". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  45. ^ "J.H. Mensah loved democracy profoundly - Akufo-Addo". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  46. ^ "Stop wasteful 1-week death anniversary – Palmer-Buckle". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  47. ^ "Stop flamboyant funerals; bury the dead in a week – Palmer-Buckle". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  48. ^ "Senior government officials, NPP, NDC bigwigs attend burial service of J.H Mensah". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  49. ^ "Let's spend on the living not the dead – Palmer-Buckle to Ghanaians". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  50. ^ "J.H Mensah's demise: I've lost trusted Counsellor – Akufo-Addo". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Finance1
(NLC)
? – ? 		Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
?
 Minister for Finance
1969 – 1972 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
?
 Minister and Leader of Government Business
2001 – 2003 		Succeeded by
?
Preceded by Minister for Public Sector Reform and National Institutional Renewal Programme
2003 – 2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
New Position
 Senior Minister
2005 – 2006 		Succeeded by
abolished
Parliament of Ghana
Preceded by
Parliament suspended
 Member of Parliament
1969 – 1972 		Succeeded by
Parliament suspended
Preceded by
Ato Quarshie
 Member of Parliament for Sunyani East
1997 – 2009 		Succeeded by
Kwasi Ameyaw-Cherimeh
Notes and references
1. STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS (SAPS) IN GHANA: INTERROGATING PNDC's IMPLEMENTATION ISSN 1525-4488
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