Ten Facts you should know about Alan Kyerematen; Minister Designate for Trade and Industry.

Called by many as ‘Alan Cash’, Alan Kyerematen has established himself as one of Ghana’s renowned politicians and became a household name in 2007 when he stepped up his Presidential ambitions by contesting Akufo-Addo in search of a slot to become NPP’s Presidential candidate ahead of the 2008 General Election.

But how well do you know the Former Minister? here are ten undisputed facts about him you should know.

1. In 1998, Kyerematen was appointed by the UNDP as the first Regional Director of Enterprise Africa, 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
2. He is a member of the Council of Governors of the British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) in the UK and also a Board member of other organizations in Ghana.
3. In 1990, Alan was responsible for establishing and managing the EMPRETEC Programme in Ghana, a leading business development programme sponsored by the United Nations and Barclays Bank.
4. Alan Kyerematen was appointed as the Cabinet Minister with responsibility for Trade, Industry and the President’s Special Initiatives (PSI) with additional responsibility for Private Sector Development (PSD) in 2003.
5. The highly rated Politician was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to the U.S. when the N.P.P came into office in 2001.
6. Ghana, on 17 December 2012, nominated Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen for the post of WTO Director-General to succeed the current Director-General, Pascal Lamy, whose term of office expired on 31 August 2013. His candidature has received the backing of the Africa Union (AU)but couldn’t make the final shortlist for the position.
7. He contested as presidential candidate in NPP primaries in 2007 but unsuccessful when the current NPP leader President Akufo-Addo was given the nod to succeed former President J.A Kuffuor to lead the party into the 2008 election.
8. Under his watch as Minister of Trade and industries, the much anticipated ONE DISTRICT ONE FACTORY becomes a reality.
9. The African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA headquarters was established in Ghana through his hard fought negotiations.
10. In 1994, Alan was listed by the TIME Magazine as one of the Hundred (100) Global Leaders for the New Millennium, alongside Bill Gates (Microsoft Corporation), John F. Kennedy Jr. and others.