Seth Emmanuel Terkper is a Chartered Accountant and the former Minister for Finance and Economic Planning of Ghana. Seth Terkper was born in Somanya in the Eastern Region of Ghana, where he started his Elementary School education in the Presby cluster of schools. He obtained his first degree in B.Comm from the UCC in Ghana. He is also a Chartered Accountant who holds a MPA degree from the Kennedy School, Harvard University. As a Deputy Minister in the MOFEP from March 2009 to January 2013, Terkper worked mainly on the Budget and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework as well as on revenue policy and administration. During the period, he became very active in working on government business in Parliament, including the passage of Bills and approval of International Agreements. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the BOG and chaired the joint Steering Committee of the Ghana Revenue Authority and Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System reforms. Between July 1999 and February 2009, Terkper held various positions in the Fiscal Affairs Dept. of the IMF. He participated in, and led, several technical assistance missions to member-states to improve the organization, process and legislation for revenue institutions. In so doing, he worked with colleagues in the Tax Policy and other Divisions in FAD; the African and Legal departments; the Caribbean Technical Assistance Centre ; and other IMF units to achieve critical TA goals. As a chartered accountant and public administrator, he follows fiscal, accounting, and other economic trends closely. Before joining the IMF, Terkper worked in staff and management positions—including National VAT Coordinator and Deputy Commissioner—in the National Revenue Secretariat MOFEP and revenue agencies in Ghana. He played a key role in the introduction of the Value Added Tax in Ghana. He has consulted for the IMF; Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard International Tax Program ; African Development Bank , and UN Committee of Tax Experts. He was a correspondent for Tax Analysts, USA. Terkper has been part of—and participated in leadership positions in—local government, social, religious, and student bodies. Terkper published a book on VAT in 2011 and continues to maintain a keen interest in research, publications, reviews and teaching.
