Amon Nikoi, born Seth Amon Nikoi, (19 January 1930 – 5 September 2002) was a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He was the Permanent Representative of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

between 1957 and 1960 as well as the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the Bank of Ghana from 16 March 1973 to June 1977. He had a stint as the

Finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

and a presidential advisor between September 1979 to May 1981 under

Hilla Limann Hilla Limann, (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served as the eighth president of Ghana from 1979 to 1981. He previously served as a diplomat in Lomé and in Geneva. Education Limann, whose origi ...

during the Third Republic.

Early life and education

Nikoi was born in the

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

suburb of La on 19 January 1930 to Ga parents. His father, Gottfried Ashaley Nikoi was a civil servant while his mother, Agnes Betty Oboshie Quao was a teacher and a textiles trader. Amon Nikoi's maternal great-grandfather, Nii Ngleshie Addy I was the oldest son of Nii Tetteh Tsuru I, the founder and ruler of the Otuopai Clan, a royal house in Ga Mashie. Amon Nikoi had his primary and middle education at the Roman Catholic Jubilee School in

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...

followed by his secondary school at Achimota College between 1945 and 1948. He graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

. He proceeded to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

as a Fellow from 1953 to 1955 for his master's degree in

Public Administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and a doctorate in Political Economy and Government. Both degrees were conferred upon Nikoi in 1956. Amon Nikoi's Ph.D. dissertation was titled, ''"Indirect rule and government in Gold Coast Colony 1844-1954; a study in the history, ecology and politics of administration in a changing society."''

Career

From 1957 to 1960, he worked with the Commonwealth and Foreign Service as an economic and political affairs secretary-

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, DC and the Permanent Representative of

to the

( UN). In 1960, he was appointed the Alternate Executive Director of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF) until 1966 when he was promoted to the level of executive director of the IMF. He left the IMF to return to his homeland at the end of 1968. In January 1969, he became the first Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. He was quickly given the portfolio of Senior Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, a position he remained in until February 1973. The Ghanaian government selected and confirmed him as the new governor and chairman of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Bank of Ghana in March 1973 until his forced retirement in June 1977 by the military government, National Redemption Council (NRC) led by Army General

Ignatius Kutu Acheampong Ignatius Kutu Acheampong ( ; 23 September 1931 – 16 June 1979) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who was the military head of state of Ghana from 13 January 1972 to 5 July 1978, when he was deposed in a palace coup. He was execute ...

. When constitutional rule returned in 1979, the Third Republican government of the

-led

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) (PNP; ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Manley, Norman Washington Manley who served as party president unti ...

( PNP) made him Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and later, a presidential advisor. He entered private practice as an Economic and Financial Consultant to various private sector firms and public institutions both home and abroad. He was also the chairman of Ashanti Goldfields Company ( AGC) and Grains Warehousing Company. In recognition of his services to Ghana in

and

Banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, the government at the time, Supreme Military Council II led by military general, Fred Akuffo awarded him the State Honour of the Order of the Volta (Civil Division).

Personal life and family

He was married to Gloria Amon Nikoi (née Addae), Ghana's first female

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. They had three children. His younger brother, Gottfried Dzane Nikoi worked in the Attorney–General's Department as a state attorney. His maternal uncle was the Ghanaian

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, Nii Amaa Ollennu who was elected the Speaker of the

Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the unicameral legislature of Ghana. It consists of 276 members, who are elected for four-year terms in single-seat Electoral district, constituencies using a first-past-the-post voting system. History Legislature, L ...

during the Second Republic as well as serving as the Chairman of the Presidential Commission and acting

President of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is John Mahama, who won the 2024 presidential elect ...

from 7 August 1970 to 31 August 1970. The diplomat and public servant, Nathan Quao was also his uncle. His first cousins were the brothers,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

and George Clerk.

Death and funeral

Nikoi died of natural causes on 5 September 2002. His

funeral service A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

was held at the Accra Ridge Church where he was a congregant and his remains were buried at the La Public Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikoi, Amon 1930 births 2002 deaths Alumni of Achimota School Amherst College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian economists Governors of Bank of Ghana Finance ministers of Ghana Ghanaian civil servants Permanent representatives of Ghana to the United Nations Ghanaian Presbyterians People from Accra Recipients of the Order of the Volta Ghanaian presidential advisors