Ernest Akobuor Debrah (3 June 1947 – 6 April 2016) was a

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 ...

ian politician.

Early life and education

Ernest Kwaku Akobour Debrah was born on 3 June 1947 to James Emmanuel Debrah and Elizabeth Akosua Kontoh Debrah. He was the 3rd of twelve children born to his parents. He hails from Tanoso in the

Brong Ahafo Region The Brong-Ahafo region was a region in central Ghana. Brong-Ahafo was bordered to the north by the Black Volta river and to the east by the Lake Volta, and to the south by the Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions. The capital of Brong-Ahafo is ...

. After his basic and secondary education at Sunyani Secondary School and

Ghana National College Ghana National College is a senior high school in Cape Coast, Ghana. Overview Ghana National College was founded on 20 July 1948, staffed by dismissed teachers from St. Augustine's College (Cape Coast), St Augustine's College and Mfantsipim Sc ...

, Ernest Debrah graduated from

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), commonly known as UST, Tech or Kwame Tech, is a public university located in Kumasi, Ashanti region, Ghana. The university focuses on science and technology. It is the second public uni ...

in 1972 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in Land Economy. He then proceeded to acquire a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree in management at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

, Glasgow in 1995.

Career

Debrah was an economist by profession. He has worked as the chief manager of the Retain Banking Unit at the head office of Société Générale - Social Security Bank, later known as Societe Generale Ghana Limited.

Politics

Debrah was the Member of Parliament for the Tano North constituency in the 4th and 5th parliaments of the 4th republic of Ghana. He was the Minister for Food and Agriculture (February 2005 to January 2009), having previously served as Regional Minister for

Brong-Ahafo The Brong-Ahafo region was a region in central Ghana. Brong-Ahafo was bordered to the north by the Black Volta river and to the east by the Lake Volta, and to the south by the Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions. The capital of Brong-Ahafo ...

and then Regional Minister for the Northern Region from February 2001 to January 2004. He was elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

from Tano North in December 2004. He was given an award in 2009 during the Farmers' Day celebrations.

Elections

Debrah was first elected as the member of parliament for the Tano North constituency in the 2004 Ghanaian general elections. He was elected with 15,868 votes out of 26,983 total valid votes cast. This was equivalent to 58.80% of total valid votes cast. He was elected over Charles Appiagyei of the National Democratic Congress, Nyamekye Florence of the Democratic People's Party, Daniel Dabie Boateng of the People's National Convention and Nana Ampabeng Daniel K Kyeremeh of the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGC ...

. These obtained 10,253 votes, 485 votes, 210 votes and 167votes respectively of the total valid votes cast. These were equivalent to 38.00%, 1.80%, 0.80% and 0.60% respectively of all total valid votes cast in that election. Debrah won on the ticket of the

New Patriotic Party The New Patriotic Party (NPP; ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative political party in Ghana. Since the democratisation of Ghana in 1992, it has been one of the two dominant parties in Ghanaian ...

. His constituency was a part of the 14constituencies out of 24 constituencies won by the New Patriotic Party in the Brong Ahafo region in that election. In all, the New Patriotic Party won a majority total of 128 parliamentary representation out of 230 parliamentary seats in the 4th parliament of the 4th republic of Ghana. Debrah was re-elected as the Member of parliament for the Tano North constituency in the 2008 Ghanaian general elections. He was elected with 15,868votes out of 26983 total valid votes cast. This was equivalent to 58.80% of total valid votes cast. He was elected over Opoku Atuahene of the National Democratic Congress, Alhassan Kabore of the Convention People's Party, George Owusu Yeboah of the People's National Convention, Arkoh Ernest of the Democratic Freedom Party and Amanfo Antwi of the Democratic People's Party. These obtained 11,120votes, 363 votes, 214votes, 144votes and 101votes respectively of the total valid votes cast. These were equivalent to 38.36%, 1.25% , 0.74%, 0.50% and 0.35% respectively of total valid votes cast. Debrah was re-elected on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. His constituency was a part of 16 parliamentary seats out of 24 seats won by the New Patriotic Party in the Brong Ahafo region in that election. In all, the New Patriotic Party won a minority total of 107 parliamentary representation out of 230 seats in the 5th parliament of the 4th republic of Ghana.

Personal life

Ernest Akobuor Debrah was a Christian and married with four children. He died after a brief illness on Wednesday 6 April 2016, at his residence.

References

External links

Ernest Akobuor Debrah
Accrareport.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Debrah, Ernest Akobuor 1947 births 2016 deaths Ghanaian MPs 2005–2009 Ghanaian MPs 2009–2013 Agriculture ministers of Ghana New Patriotic Party politicians Ghana National College alumni