Mahamudu Bawumia

Mahamudu Bawumia brought the language of economics into Ghanaian politics like few before him. A central banker turned politician, he served two terms as vice president and carried the governing party's hopes into the 2024 election, positioning himself as the technocrat who would digitise and modernise the Ghanaian state.

Early life and education

He was born on 7 October 1963 in Tamale, the son of Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, a veteran politician who chaired the Council of State. He studied in Ghana before moving to the United Kingdom, and went on to earn degrees in economics from Buckingham, Oxford and Simon Fraser University in Canada, graduating with distinction along the way.

Career in economics

He taught as an assistant professor of economics at Baylor University in Texas before returning home in 2000 to join the Bank of Ghana. He rose quickly, becoming a deputy governor of the central bank in 2006, the platform that established his reputation as an economic authority.

Political career

He entered frontline politics in 2008 as Nana Akufo-Addo's running mate on the New Patriotic Party ticket. After several attempts the pairing won in 2016, and Bawumia served as vice president from 2017 to 2025, closely associated with the government's digitalisation agenda. He led the NPP into the December 2024 election as its presidential candidate but finished second to John Mahama.

Standing

Married to Samira Bawumia and a father of four, he remains one of the most prominent figures in Ghanaian public life, a politician who built his brand on data, policy and the promise of a modernised economy.