Former Ghana Ambassador To U.S. Dr. Kwame Bawuah-Edusei Launches Autobiography
At a festive ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel in Springfield Virginia, physician, business executive, diplomat, and philanthropist H.E. Dr. Kwame Bawuah-Edusei launched his long-awaited autobiography – Thrived: Despite the Odds.
The book is a harrowing tale of ups and downs through childhood, after he lost his father at age 4, as a community leader in the United States, a diplomat, and an entrepreneur. Relative to oil discovery in Ghana, Dr. Bawuah-Edusei includes details about a protracted legal inquiry by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Government of Ghana, as well as aspersions and personal attacks that resulted in economic hardships. The book, however, ends with the triumph he always dreamed of and a challenge to all to “never give up.”
Addressing the guests at the U.S. launch, Dr. Bawuah-Edusei remarked,
“I decided to write this book because the truth always needs to be told. Delays can be harmful. I had to share my life experiences, particularly for the youth. They are the future and should know that even when faced with the most severe challenges, they should never give up.”
Prior to serving as Ghana’s ambassador to the United States (2006–2009), Dr. Bawuah-Edusei served as Ghana’s Ambassador to Switzerland and Austria, as well as Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva and Vienna.
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As a private citizen, Dr. Bawuah-Edusei formed an oil company – EO Group – with his partner Mr. George Owusu. The hard efforts deployed by EO Group eventually contributed to the discovery of oil in large commercial quantities for the first time in Ghana. This transformational asset helped Ghana move from a highly indebted poor country into a middle income one.
Throughout his stay in the U.S. from the mid-1980s, Dr. Bawuah-Edusei was a staunch community leader. He continues to be a resilient advocate for Ghana and still travels all over the country to help improve U.S.-Ghana relations through business promotion and advocacy.
In her foreword for the book, former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Pamela E. Bridgewater, who spoke at the launch writes; “what you read in his engrossing and uplifting autobiography, Thrived: Despite the Odds, is that Kwame was a successful medical doctor and businessman before becoming a diplomat. His company, EO Group (reflecting his partnership with George Owusu), was vigorously engaged in and finally successful in negotiating oil exploration and an unprecedented discovery of “black gold” in Ghana, bringing wealth to the nation and to the company.”
Through his Edusei Foundation he also facilitates youth development in Ghana and the diaspora and supports infrastructure development and charitable causes, especially in the health sector.
Thrived: Despite the Odds is scheduled to be launched in Accra, and Kumasi (both in Ghana) before the end of 2019.
Written by Fred Nnoma-Addison of AMIPnews
