K. B. Asante

Kwaku Baprui Asante (26 March 1924[1] – 22 January 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat, writer and politician. He was the Secretary to Ghana's First President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.[2] Asante served under most Heads of States in Ghana, starting from Nkrumah, and also served as the Principal Secretary at African Affairs Secretariat from 1960 to 1966.

K. B. Asante
K.B. Asante
Ambassador of Ghana to Belgium
In office
1976–1978
Ambassador of Ghana to Switzerland
In office
22 August 1967 – 7 July 1972
Preceded byRichard Akwei
Succeeded byOsei-Tutu
Personal details
Born
Kwaku Baprui Asante

(1924-03-26)26 March 1924
Greater Accra Region, Gold Coast
Died21 January 2018(2018-01-21) (aged 93)
Greater Accra Region, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
SpouseDzagbele Matilda Asante
Children5
Alma materAchimota College
University College, Durham
OccupationDiplomat

Asante was educated at Achimota School and later returned there to teach Mathematics.[3]

Early life and education

Born in Accra, Gold Coast, on 26 March 1924, Asante attended the O'Reilly Educational Institute, Tudu, Government Junior Boys' School, Adabraka, and Government Senior Boys’ School, Kinbu, from 1927 to 1937.[4] From 1938 to 1942, he attended Achimota College Upper Primary and Secondary School, where also he taught mathematics (1945–48). He then proceeded to Durham University in Britain, where he obtained a BSc Mathematics degree in 1952.[5]

Career

He became a member of the Institute of Statisticians in 1953, before returning to Achimota College, where from 1953 to 1955 he taught mathematics.[5]

He worked for six years at The Flagstaff House, and was Principal Secretary at the African Affairs Secretariat (1960–66). From 1967 to 1972, he was Ghana's Ambassador to Switzerland, also with concurrent to Australia, and from 1976 to 1978 he served as Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Economic Community.[6]

Provisional National Defence Council government

Between 1982 and 1986, Asante served as Secretary for Trade and Tourism in the Provisional National Defence Council government led by Jerry Rawlings. Asante also served as Secretary for Education and Culture between 1986 and 1990.[7] Between 1991 and 1993, he was High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland.[8]

Asante wrote a weekly column, "Voice from afar", in the national newspaper, the Daily Graphic.[9] In 2003, a collection of his weekly articles was published as a book with the same title of his column.[2][10][11]

Personal life

His first wife was unknown and they had one child together, Edwin Asante. He later married Dzagbele Matilda Asante and they had five children.[4][12] Asante was a lifelong congregant of the Anglican Church. He was also a Freemason, belonging to the District Grand Lodge of Ghana under the United Grand Lodge of England.[13][14][15][16]

Death and funeral

Asante died on 22 January 2018 at the age of 93.[17] He was accorded a ceremonial burial at the Forecourt of the State House in Accra.[18]

References
  1. "Asante, Kwaku Baprui", Who's who in the world, 1978–1979.
  2. Haffar, Anis (19 November 2008). "Voice from Afar: Cheers for K. B. Asante". Modern Ghana. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  3. "Power-sharing dangerous for Ghana – K.B. Asante" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Vibe Ghana, 23 August 2013.
  4. "Photos: Ghana's Freemasons 'Take Over' K.B Asante's Funeral To Bid Him Farewell". OMGVoice.com. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  5. Archived 11 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Archived 7 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Kwaku Baprui Asante in the Dodis database of the Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland.
  6. "9 facts you probably didn't know about K.B. Asante" Archived 2 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine, GhanaWeb, 23 January 2018.
  7. "K.B. Asante, the patriot, diplomat and writer". GhanaWeb. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  8. "Our Past High Commissioners". London: Ghana High Commission. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. "KB Asante: Voice From Afar column". Graphic Online. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  10. Asante, K. B. (2003). Voice from Afar: a Ghanaian Experience. Ghana: Graphic Publications Ltd. GCGL. ISBN 9789988809737.
  11. Asante, K. B. (2003). Voice from afar: a Ghanaian experience. ISBN 9789988809737. Retrieved 17 August 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  12. Kwaku (30 September 2020). "Dzagbele Matilda Asante – I Was Nursing In The UK Before Windrush And The NHS". Black History Month. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  13. Lamptey, Edwin. "Photos: Freemason members 'storm' funeral of late K.B. Asante to pay their last respect". Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  14. "Photos: Freemasons 'storm' funeral to bid member K.B Asante farewell". MyNewsGh. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  15. Tornyi, Emmanuel (12 March 2018). "Freemasons attend K.B Asante's funeral". Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  16. Lamptey, Edwin (19 March 2018). "Top Grand Lodge members pay their last respect to K.B. Asante". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  17. "K.B. Asante passes on". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  18. Allotey, Godwin Akweiteh (10 March 2018). "Late K.B. Asante goes home [Photos]". citifmonline.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
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