Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen
Biography
Alan Kyerematen has an extensive and distinguished record in international trade, international public policy, enterprise development, politics and diplomacy, as a Cabinet Minister and former Presidential Candidate, as an
Ambassador and negotiator, as an international public servant and as a senior corporate executive in the private sector. He will offer the World Trade Organisation (WTO) a strong combination of political, professional and
managerial leadership and expertise.
As Ghana’s Minister of Trade, Industry and President’s Special Initiatives (PSI) from 2003, he led the design, development and implementation of innovative programmes and special initiatives which have created new strategic pillars of growth for the Ghanaian economy. He was re-appointed as Minister of Trade and Industry in 2005, and served in that capacity until 2007 with additional responsibility for Private Sector Development.
As Minister of Trade and Industry in Ghana, Alan Kyerematen played a key role in shaping Africa’s Trade Policy agenda in the WTO Multilateral Negotiations and the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations. He was one of the lead negotiators for Africa in the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun in 2003, and also participated in the high-level “Green Room” consultations during the Hong Kong WTO Conference in December 2005.
In addition, he initiated, directed and managed the preparations for the hosting of UNCTAD XII in Ghana, and introduced for the first time in the history of UNCTAD Conferences, the World Investment Forum which has now become a major calendar event for UNCTAD. He also coordinated and supervised the hosting by Ghana of the Sixth United States-Africa Summit in 2006, and played a key role in negotiating changes in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). He was Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Trade Ministers at the critical stages of launching the EU-ECOWAS EPA
negotiations.
Prior to his appointment as Minister, Mr. Kyerematen served as Ambassador of Ghana to the United States of America from 2001 to 2003. In that role, he negotiated various trade and investment agreements between Ghana and the United States, and initiated the establishment of the Ghana-United States Economic Council, which played a strategic role in deepening trade relations between the two countries and resolved commercial disputes through extra-judicial processes.
In 1998, Alan Kyerematen was appointed by the UNDP as the first Regional Director of ENTERPRISE AFRICA, which was an Africa-wide, flagship initiative for the development and promotion of small and medium enterprises. Under that framework, he established enterprise support institutions and programmes in 13 Sub-Saharan Africa countries – Botswana, Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. Over 4,000 African entrepreneurs and small businesses have benefited from these programmes.
In 1990, Alan Kyerematen was responsible for establishing and managing the EMPRETEC Programme in Ghana, a leading business development programme sponsored by the United Nations and Barclays Bank Limited. He led the transformation of EMPRETEC from a UN project into an independent Foundation, and as its founding Chief Executive, developed the Foundation into a world-class institution which is recognized as a successful model and best practice institution for enterprise development in Africa. Between 1984 and 1990, he participated in and managed a number of major private and public sector consulting assignments in Ghana, as a Principal Consultant and Head of Public Systems Management
with the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), a leading management development institution in Ghana.
Prior to this, he was a senior corporate executive with UAC Ghana Ltd, a subsidiary of Unilever International, where he worked in various managerial positions with distinction until 1984.
Throughout his career, Alan Kyerematen has demonstrated a capacity for efficient and effective leadership in managing and coordinating organizational activities at high levels of executive responsibility. Within that context, he has managed a diverse team of professional staff and technical experts, and provided intellectual leadership in supervising the planning and organization of major international events, including the preparation of technical reports and other documentation. In addition, he has acquired over the years, an in-depth knowledge and understanding, as well as practical experience in dealing with critical development issues and challenges in Africa, particularly in LDCs, in the areas of trade, investment and economic policy management. He has also at different stages of his professional career, successfully mobilized and managed significant resources from development partners to support development efforts in Africa.
Currently, as Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Alan Kyerematen is leading efforts in enhancing advocacy for trade in Africa, building the capacity of trade negotiators, as well as developing capability at the country level in trade policy formulation. In addition, he is coordinating the implementation of technical assistance programmes to enhance the productive capacity and competitiveness of African countries, and also providing support for analytical as well as evidence-based research on trade related issues.
Mr. Kyerematen is one of the leading members of the technical team providing strategic guidance and support to the African Union Commission in developing and elaborating an Action Plan for Boosting intra-African Trade and preparing a framework for the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area.
As part of this effort, he was designated as a Special Envoy of the African Union to hold consultations with selected African Heads of State prior to the 18th African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government in January 2012.
Alan Kyerematen is a graduate in Economics from the University of Ghana, and is also a qualified Barrister-at-Law from the Ghana Law School. In addition, he was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at the School of Management of the University of Minnesota, under the US Fulbright Fellowship Programme.
He has served as a Member of the Council of Governors of the British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) in the United Kingdom, and also as a Board member of several other organizations in Ghana. Born in 1955, he is married with two children. He speaks English and some French.
Source:savananews24.com