Dr Paul Amoako Acquah
Former Governor of the Bank of Ghana
Education: BSc Economics, University of Ghana, Legon; Masters Degree, Yale University, United States; PhD, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Career: Economist, 1976-98; Deputy Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington DC, US, 1998-2001; Governor, Bank of Ghana, 2001-09.
Commentary: In September 2009, Paul Acquah was part of a team formed to stabilise the debt of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and manage its crude oil supply. He was joined by Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Kwabena Duffuor, Chief of Staff John Martey Newman, and Minister of Energy Joe Oteng-Adjei.
As Governor of Ghana's Central Bank, Acquah led the re-denomination of the cedi, a decision that was heavily criticised by Duffuor, who felt the re-denomination exercise harmed the economy.
In 2005, Acquah won the Emerging Markets award for Africa Central Bank Governor of the Year.