27 Facts About Obed Asamoah

Obed Yao Asamoah was born on 6 February 1936 and is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic and politician.

Obed Asamoah was educated at King's College London and at Columbia University.

Obed Asamoah was born the tenth child of William Kofi Asamoah and Monica Akosua Asamoah, farmers of Bala in the Likpe Traditional Area of the Volta Region of Ghana on 6 February 1936.

Obed Asamoah's mother, was the second wife of his father following the death of his first wife, who bore him two girls.

Obed Asamoah's mother was married young after being spirited out of Ejisu in Ashanti.

Obed Asamoah was the daughter of an Ejisu chief who married a woman taken from Likpe during the Ashanti invasions of the Volta Region.

Obed Asamoah's childhood life as described was an interesting one and his aspirations to become a lawyer started whilst a child, as described in a narration;.

Obed Asamoah's mother expected partisanship from him, but she did not get it.

Obed Asamoah's fairness was appreciated, although certainly not by his mother.

Under the guidance of his elder brother, Obed Asamoah passed the Common Entrance Examination in 1949, after primary school education.

Obed Asamoah took the O' level Latin in 1955, and proceeded to Britain in 1956 to complete the sixth form at Woolwich Polytechnic before going on admission to King's College, London University where he earned a bachelor of Laws degree with honours in 1960.

Obed Asamoah enrolled at the Middle Temple Inn of Court for the professional qualification.

Obed Asamoah returned to Ghana where he entered into academia in 1965, He became a lecturer in law at the University of Ghana.

Obed Asamoah grew up to become a political figure in Ghana, from being a member of the constituent assembly, member of parliament, Minister of foreign affairs, Attorney General of Ghana and Minister for Justice and the chairman of the National Democratic Congress.

Obed Asamoah served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of 1968, and the Consultative Assembly of 1978, in both assemblies the charge was to draft new constitutions following the period of military rule.

Obed Asamoah was a member of Parliament for the Biakoye constituency, from 1969 to 1972, during the 2nd Republic of Ghana serving as the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Obed Asamoah had won a seat in the Volta Region on the ticket of the National Alliance of Liberals, led by Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, a veteran associate of Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

Obed Asamoah served in this role from 1997 till his party left public office in January 2001.

Obed Asamoah was a key figure and instrumental in the formation and growth of the National Democratic Congress in 1993 ahead of the 1993 Ghanaian elections as Ghana was going back into multi party democracy.

In 2002, Obed Asamoah replaced Rawlings as head of the opposition National Democratic Congress, beating former defense minister Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu by just 2 votes.

Obed Asamoah was accused by his party members and other political parties of stealing a huge sum of money from the coffers of the NDC, which he had reported lost from his bedroom in 2004.

Obed Asamoah described as "wasteful thinking", suggestions that the DFP merged with the NDC because of ministerial appointment offers.

Obed Asamoah said the decision by the party to re-unite with the NDC is purely based on the growing internal democracy within the NDC.

Obed Asamoah is married to Dr Yvonne Obed Asamoah, an African American from Syracuse, New York.

Obed Asamoah being an avid reader and legal academic has authored several publications and books.

Obed Asamoah is the author of The Legal Significance of the Declarations of the General Assembly of the United Nations, which he wrote for his thesis in 1966.

Obed Asamoah is the author The Political History of Ghana The Experience of a Non-Conformist, which he gives an account of his life and struggles within the Gold Coast through colonial rule and fight for independence and the future rivalry between the Convention Peoples Party of Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the United Gold Coast Convention led by Dr Danquah and other relevant events in the Ghana's history.