JOSEPH WILLIAM DE GRAFT-JOHNSON (1933–1999)

Engineer, Academic, Politician, and First Vice President of Ghana

Joseph William de Graft-Johnson was born on 6 October 1933 in Cape Coast, Gold Coast (now Ghana), to Fante parents. He received his early education at the Mfantsipim School, a historic Methodist boys’ secondary school in Cape Coast known for producing many of Ghana’s leaders. He pursued higher education abroad, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Leeds. In 1960, he completed a Master’s degree in Highway Engineering at the University of Birmingham, before moving to the United States, where he obtained a PhD in Soil Mechanics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1965.

Career in Engineering and Academia

After completing his studies, de Graft-Johnson first worked with an engineering firm in London. Among his projects were the construction of a power plant in Brazil and the extension of an airport in London. He later returned to Ghana, where he became a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi. His academic career advanced steadily—he rose to the rank of Senior Lecturer, and by 1968, he was promoted to Associate Professor. In 1969, he was appointed Director of the Buildings and Roads Research Institute (BRRI), one of Ghana’s leading civil engineering and infrastructure research centres. His expertise was also recognized regionally; he served as a consultant to the Government of Zambia, where he advised on establishing the Building Research and Development Institute in Lusaka. By 1974, he became a member of the Ghana Highways Authority, later serving on its board of directors. He was also a founding member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), and served as its President from 1977 to 1978.

Political Career

De Graft-Johnson entered politics during a turbulent period in Ghana’s history. Under the military rule of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), he was among professional leaders who openly criticized the continuation of military governance. As President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, he joined other professional bodies in opposing authoritarian rule, enduring personal attacks as a result of his stance. In 1978, he became a member of the Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting the 1979 Constitution of the Third Republic of Ghana. With the lifting of the ban on political parties in 1979, he joined the newly formed People’s National Party (PNP). That year, the PNP won the general elections, with Hilla Limann elected President. De Graft-Johnson became Ghana’s first-ever Vice President, serving from September 1979 until the government was ousted by a coup led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings on 31 December 1981. Following the coup, he went into exile in London. Joseph de Graft-Johnson was married to Lily Anna Sekyi, with whom he had five children. He passed away on 22 April 1999 in London, at the age of 65. His funeral service was held at the Wesley Methodist Cathedralin Cape Coast, where he was later buried. De Graft-Johnson authored academic and technical works in the fields of civil engineering, soil mechanics, and infrastructure development, contributing to research in Ghana and beyond. His publications strengthened his reputation as both a scholar and practitioner of engineering. Joseph William de Graft-Johnson’s life reflected a unique blend of technical expertise and political service. As a pioneering Ghanaian engineer and academic, he helped establish national infrastructure and professional engineering institutions. As Ghana’s first Vice President, he symbolized the country’s return to democratic rule during the Third Republic, even though it was short-lived. His contributions to engineering, education, and governance remain part of Ghana’s modern history.