Josiah Ofori Boateng

Josiah Ofori Boateng (4 January 1931 - 20 April 2008) is a Ghanaian judge who served on the Supreme Court of Ghana from 1999 to 2001. He previously served as Chairman of the Interim Electoral Commission of Ghana from 1989 to 1993, and in this role presided over the conduct of the first general elections under Ghana's Fourth Republic.

Early life and education Ofori Boateng hails from Aburi in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He was born on 4 January 1931, the fourth of six children of Presbyterian minister, Rev. Christian Robert Boateng in the then Gold Coast. He had his secondary education at Achimota School and his tertiary education at the University College of the Gold Coast (now the University of Ghana) He enrolled at Lincoln's Inn and was called to the English bar in 1963.

Career Ofori Boateng begun as an Assistant State Attorney at post in Sekondi-Takoradi in 1963, before joining the private law firm of Gaisie, Scheck and Company also in Sekondi-Takoradi as a solicitor and advocate.

Boateng went back into public service in the latter part of 1966 and was appointed a district magistrate. A year later, he obtained a year-long Ford Foundation grant as a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and the Environmental Institute in Washington.

Boateng was appointed and sworn in as a Justice of the Court of Appeal in September 1989. As chair of the commission, Boateng supervised a referendum on a new constitution and also the conduct of the 1992 general election and declared the results of the election. He chaired the commission until 1993 when he returned to the Court of Appeal. He together with Justice Sapong were sworn into office as judges of the Supreme Court on 15 April 1999. He remained a Supreme Court judge until his retirement on 4 January 2001. Ofori Boateng has published a number of papers on Law and Environmental issues.

Personal life Ofori Boateng was married to Sabina Ofori Boateng, a lawyer who was a member of the Constitutional Review Commission. In his spare time, he likes to listen to classical music, work on his poultry farm and write on legal subjects. He is the brother of Ernest Amano Boateng, the first Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast.