Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry of Ghana on 9th October 2014. He was Ghana’s Minister of Communication from July 1997 to December 1998, Minister of Education from December 1998 to January 2001, and was concurrently Minister responsible for Mines and Energy from October to December 1999, under the government of President Jerry John Rawlings. Earlier, he served as Ghana’s Ambassador to the USA and Mexico from June 1994 to June 1997, during the Bill Clinton administration.
He has served as acting Chairman of Ghana’s National Communications Authority from July 1997 to December 1998, and first Chairman of Ghana’s VAT Service Board from 1998 to 2000. From 1997 to 1998 he was a member of the Governing Board of UNESCO in Paris. Previously, he was a senior official of the African Development Bank (1991-94), the World Bank Group (1988-1991), Southwestern Bell, (USA) 1985-1987 and Hill and Knowlton (USA), from 1979- 1985. In September 2007, he became a member of the board of Telkom South Africa and subsequently also joined the Board of Vodacom South Africa from December 2007 until May 2009. He is Chairman of the U.K.-based African Cancer Organisation and the African Business Centre for Developing Education.
Dr. Spio-Garbrah was elected a Vice-Chairman of Ghana’s ruling party NDC from 2009 – 2011 and remains a leading member of Ghana’s ruling NDC party.
Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah was appointed Chief Executive of the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) on 8th September 2003, following an internationally competitive process involving some 100+ candidates. He was the first African to be appointed to the post in more than 100 years of the CTO’s existence. He brought to the position more than 25 years of previous successful experience in the fields of communications, banking, advertising, diplomacy, government, sales, consulting and politics.
He holds a BA (Hons), English, from the University of Ghana; a Graduate Certificate in International Banking from the New York University; a Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Communications; an M.A in International Affairs from Ohio University; and was awarded an LLD (Honoris Causa) by Middlebury University, USA in June 2001.