Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is a Ghanaian politician of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who represented the Suame Constituency in Kumasi for 28 years, from January 1997 to January 2025, which makes him the longest-serving MP in Ghana's history. He was Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs under President Nana Akufo-Addo. He was previously known as Lawrence Addae.

Early life and education

He was born on 3 February 1957 and comes from Bremang-Afrancho in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region. He graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 1982 with a degree in planning, and he has worked as a development planner, architect and quantity surveyor.

Parliament

He first won Suame in the 1996 election, taking 57.4 per cent of the vote, and held it through the second to the eighth Parliaments of the Fourth Republic. In 2004 his share rose to 82.1 per cent. He chaired the Special Budget, House and Business committees and sat on the Finance, Mines and Energy, Standing Orders and Selection committees. In opposition he was Minority Leader, and after the NPP won power in 2017 he became Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.

Retirement

In February 2024 he stepped down as Majority Leader, having said he would retire from active politics in 2025. He did not seek re-election. The lawyer John Darko won the NPP primary for Suame in 2024 and then the seat in the December general election, taking over on 7 January 2025.