Kojo Botsio (21 February 1916 – 6 February 2001) was a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

ian

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He studied in Britain, where he became the treasurer of the West African National Secretariat and an acting warden for the

West African Students' Union The West African Students' Union (WASU), founded in London, England, in 1925 and active into the 1960s,"History o ...

. He served as his country's first Minister of Education and Social Welfare from 1951, as Minister for Foreign Affairs twice in the government of

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. ...

, and was a leading figure in the ruling

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 (UG ...

(CPP).

Early life and education

Kojo Botsio attended Adisadel College,

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Gu ...

and then the

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school ...

in Accra. He proceeded to

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, where he obtained his first degree from the Fourah Bay College, Fourah Bay University College, the only

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

at the time. He then went to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1945 and attended Brasenose College,

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he was awarded a postgraduate degree in Geography and Education.

Career

Botsio was a teacher at the St. Augustine's College and the London City Council Secondary School in the United Kingdom. He was also once Vice-Principal of Abuakwa State College at

Kibi Kibi may refer to: * kibi (binary prefix), an ISO/IEC standard binary prefix for units of digital information * Kibi District, Okayama (吉備郡; -gun), a district in Okayama Prefecture, Japan * Kibi, Wakayama (吉備町), a town in District, Wak ...

in Ghana. Some of his students have been Kofi Baako and P. K. K. Quaidoo who were both ministers in Nkrumah's government.

Politics

Botsio first met Nkrumah in 1945 while in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He helped form the CPP. He first entered the Legislative Assembly of Ghana when he won the Winneba seat at the

1951 Gold Coast legislative election General elections were held in the Gold Coast on 8 February 1951. Although elections had been held for the Legislative Council since 1925, the Council did not have complete control over the legislation, and the voting franchise was limited to res ...

and served under

who was the leader of government business. He continued to be in the legislative assembly until 1957, when he became a

Member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP). He remained an MP until 1966 when the

Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana. History Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast. The body, called the Legislative Council ...

was suspended by the

National Liberation Council The National Liberation Council (NLC) led the Ghanaian government from 24 February 1966 to 1 October 1969. The body emerged from a ''coup d'état'' against the Nkrumah government carried out jointly by the Ghana Police Service and Ghana Armed F ...

which had overthrown the CPP government of Kwame Nkrumah. He was with Nkrumah when he died in 1972. He initially served as the Minister for Trade and Industry in the CPP government. He was also at various times, minister for Foreign Affairs, Social Welfare, Transport and Communications, Agriculture, Trade and Development.

Family

Kojo Botsio was married to Ruth Whittaker. They had two children, Kojo and Merene, both barristers.

References

1916 births 2001 deaths Ghanaian MPs 1951–1954 Ghanaian MPs 1954–1956 Ghanaian MPs 1956–1965 Ghanaian MPs 1965–1966 Alumni of Achimota School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Fourah Bay College alumni Foreign ministers of Ghana Labour ministers of Ghana Agriculture ministers of Ghana Trade ministers of Ghana Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians Ghanaian independence activists Alumni of Adisadel College {{Ghana-diplomat-stub