Edward Asafu-Adjaye

He was born on 14 July 1903 at Calabar, Nigeria, where his father was working as popular trader. After exhausting his business activity at Calabar, his father; Opanyin Asafu Adjaye brought him to Kumasi where he started his education at Kumasi Government Boys School. From there he proceeded to Adisadel College, Cape Coast where he obtained his cambridge certificate. He then proceeded to the University of London. There he won the "Profumo Prize" for being the best scholar in law, following his performance in the university's final bar (LLB) examination.

He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple, United Kingdom in 1927, in that same year he returned to the Gold Coast to practice law. He joined Sir Henley Kobina Coussey's chamber to serve his law pupillage, before going into his own private practice. He establish his own Chambers: E.O.Asafu – Adjaye & Co in Accra in 1927. The chambers was headquartered in Kumasi from 1934 to 1951.

He served on various private entities; he served as a director of Barclay's Bank (Ghana) Ltd, Mobil Oil (Ghana Ltd), the Consolidated African Selection Trust Ltd., the President of African Liberal Council, member of the Governor's Executive Council of Adisadel College and many other boards and organisations including the University of Ghana.

After some time in private practice he entered Gold Coast politics. He first started as a prominent member of the Ashanti Kotoko Society and Ashanti Confederacy Council (now Asanteman Council) in 1934. He was a member of the Gold Coast delegation that met the British Secretary of the State for the colonies to protest against the Water Works Bill and the Sedition Bill.

He, together with Dr J.B. Danquah, played a prominent role in achieving the joint Ashanti Colony Collaboration which resulted in the 1946 Burns Constitution.

He was appointed as a member of the legislative council in 1946 and in 1951, was nominated as a representative for Asanteman. That same year he also served on the first cabinet of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's 1951 CPP government. In 1954 he was appointed the Minister of Trade and Labour.