Richard Kweku Abusua-Yedom Quarshie was a businessman, a Ghanaian diplomat and politician. He was the minister of state in the second republic.

Early life and education

Richard was born on 6 March 1918, in Ewusiadjo near Dixcove in the Western Region. He went to secondary school at

Achimota School Achimota School (Help:IPA/English, /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 Reg ...

. Quarshie was trained as a Barrister at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, London.

Career

Quarshie entered the Civil Service in 1940 and became a Labor Officer in 1945. In 1956, he was employed by the Foreign Service. In 1963, he was the Sub-director and Resident Director of the Consolidated African Selection Trust Ltd. (CAST), which operates in diamond mining. On 1 July 1968, Quarshie became the Founding President of the Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC) and later became President of the Ghana Cocoa Board.

Diplomatic duties

Quarshie was one of Ghana's first diplomats. He set up missions in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Paris. He was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs when he was sent to the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

on 22 November 1960. He was brought to Leopoldville by Henry Templer Alexander, the then Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces. This was apparently to replace Nathaniel Welbeck, the then Ghanaian chargé d'affaires to Congo. Welbeck's residence was besieged by the Congo military upon allegations that he was plotting against

Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

's regime with the then deposed

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...

. Quarshie was arrested in his hotel by Congolese soldiers and held for an hour.

Politics

During the NLC era, Quarshie was appointed as a Commissioner for Trade and Industry. At the inception of the second republic, he was elected as member of parliament to represent Ahanta constituency in the 1st Parliament of the 2nd Republic. That same year he was appointed Minister for Trade and Industries and he remained in that position until 13 January 1972 when the

Busia government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Busia's Progress Party government during the Second Republic of Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the ...

was overthrown by the SMC.

Personal life

He was married to Emma Wilhelmina Philips (1917–2004). He also had a traditional marriage to Elizabeth Oheneba Akua Asafu-Adjaye with whom he had five sons (Alan, Richard, James, Mordecai, and Michael Quarshie). His son Hugh Quarshie is a British actor. His hobbies included gardening, badminton, and walking. He is a Christian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quarshie, Richard Abusua-Yedom 1918 births Year of death unknown Diplomats for Ghana Ghanaian MPs 1969–1972 20th-century Ghanaian businesspeople Alumni of Achimota School Members of Lincoln's Inn Ghanaian Christians People from Western Region (Ghana) Progress Party (Ghana) politicians