Krobo Edusei (26 December 1914 – 13 February 1984) 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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a member of

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

's government. He was a popular, outspoken and prominent Ashanti activist galvanising support amongst the Ashantis for Nkrumah's independence movement. He served as Minister without Portfolio, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Transport and Communication and Minister for the Interior under Nkrumah.

Early Years

Krobo Edusei was born on 26 December 1914 in the village of Ampabame, located in the

Ashanti region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

. His father was Kwabena Edusei and his mother, Ama Darkowah.

After Nkrumah - PNP and Limann

Following the overthrow of Nkrumah's government, Edusei was imprisoned and subsequently released. He continued to be politically active and very influential as a senior member of the

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), a party formed from the ashes of Nkrumaist CPP; and when the PNP went on to win Ghana's second (the first was won by Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia) post-Nkrumah

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

s, Edusei became a powerful figure in

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 ...

's government. Following the 1981 overthrow of the Limann government, Edusei was again imprisoned, He was released in 1983 and died of complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

soon after.

Family

Krobo Edusei married three times and had numerous children who remain active in the Ghanaian business world. The more well known of his children include prominent millionaire Ghanaian businessman and ports operator, Yaw Krobo Edusei, Lucy Lamptey, former legal director of the Ghanaian government agency Social Security and National Insurance Trust, property entrepreneur and former Coca-Cola executive, Comfort Emden and Catherine Krobo Edusei, entrepreneur, owner and CEO of the Eden Tree brand.

References

1914 births 1983 deaths Ghanaian MPs 1954–1956 Ghanaian MPs 1956–1965 Ministers for the interior of Ghana Communications ministers of Ghana Ministers for transport of Ghana Agriculture ministers of Ghana Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians Ghanaian independence activists Ashanti people Diabetes-related deaths Prisoners and detainees of Ghana {{ghana-politician-stub