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Overview
Ken Ofori-Atta
Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta is a Ghanaian investment banker who serves as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinet of Nana Akufo-Addo. He was a co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian financial services company, and served as executive chairman until 2012, when he resigned. He was nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo on 10 January 2017 and assumed office on 27 January 2017 as finance minister
07November
1958
07 November 1958
Born
Ofori-Atta was born on 7 November 1958 in Kibi, a town in the Eastern Region of Ghana
19July
1984
19 July 1984
Early life and education
Ken Ofori-Atta is a member of the Ofori-Atta family and the son of economist and politician Jones Ofori Atta; he attended Achimota School for his O-Level and A-Level certificates before pursuing a B.A. in Economics at Columbia University, graduating in 1984, and later receiving an MBA from Yale University School of Management in 1988, after which he worked at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers.
19July
1990
19 July 1990
Finance career
Ofori-Atta co-founded Databank Financial Services in 1990 and served as its executive chairman until his retirement on February 14, 2012, and he is involved in various business ventures including Insurance, Retail Banking, Private Equity, Micro-finance, Pharmaceuticals, and Real Estate; he also made history as the first African to testify at the US Congress Ways and Means Committee in support of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and has held directorial positions in several companies and boards, including Enterprise Group Ltd, Trust Bank Ltd of The Gambia (where he is the chairman), International Bank, and Acumen Fund.
19July
2016
19 July 2016
Political career
Ken Ofori-Atta was appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo to assess the economy during the transition period after the 2016 elections and later became a cabinet minister, holding various important roles in the government, including Chair of the World Bank/IMF Development Committee and the African Caucus at the World Bank, but faced a motion of censure in November 2022 due to the decline of Ghana's economy, and subsequently, he was appointed caretaker Minister of Trade and Industry in January 2023 following another minister's resignation.
19July
2018
19 July 2018
Awards and recognition
Ken Ofori-Atta, a highly accomplished individual, is a Henry Crown fellow of the Aspen Institute, co-founder of the Aspen Africa Leadership Initiative, and has received multiple accolades, including being recognized as the 2nd most respected CEO in Ghana, honored as Best Africa Finance Minister of the year by The Banker in 2018, and listed as one of Africa's most politically connected bankers in 2021 by The Africa Report.
19July
2023
19 July 2023
Personal life
Ofori-Atta is married to Professor Angela Lamensdorf Ofori-Atta, who works as a clinical psychologist at the University of Ghana Medical School, and together they have four children.
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