Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, born William Edmund Davidson Amissah-Arthur on 29 April 1951, was a Ghanaian economist, academic, and politician who served as Ghana’s sixth vice president under President John Mahama from August 2012 to January 2017. 

Prior to this, he was Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 2009 to 2012. He became vice president after the death of President John Atta Mills, having been nominated by Mahama and approved by Parliament.

He was born in Cape Coast and educated at Aboom Methodist School and Mfantsipim School. He went on to earn a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Ghana. 

Amissah-Arthur worked as a research assistant and later as a lecturer in economics both in Ghana and Nigeria. He also held various consultancy roles with organizations such as the World Bank and the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark.

Amissah-Arthur served in government during the Provisional National Defence Council era, first as a special assistant and then as Deputy Secretary and later Deputy Minister for Finance. He contributed to economic planning and policy until 1997, when he left government to work in finance and consultancy.

In 2009, he was appointed Governor of the Bank of Ghana by President Atta Mills. In this role, he helped shape national monetary policy. Following Mills’ passing, President Mahama nominated him as vice president. 

He was sworn in on 6 August 2012 and later maintained as running mate in the 2012 elections, which Mahama won. They were both sworn in on 7 January 2013.

Amissah-Arthur was married to Matilda Amissah-Arthur and had two children. He was a Christian and worshipped at Calvary Methodist Church in Accra. A sports enthusiast, he supported and held shares in Accra Hearts of Oak.

He passed away on 29 June 2018 after collapsing during a workout. A state funeral was held on 27 July 2018, followed by burial at the new Military Cemetery at Burma Camp. 

His legacy is honoured through the renaming of Moree Senior High School, the establishment of a learning centre in Ohawu, and a doctoral fellowship and research chair at the University of Ghana’s Department of Economics.