…a former Chief of Staff under Ex-President Mahama’s administration
Julius Debrah is an entrepreneur turned politician. He hails from the Obomeng Kwahu in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He was born on April 24,1966 at Suhum to James Debrah an Agriculturalist who retired as the Regional Cocoa Officer of the Eastern Region and Kate Opokua, a trader. He is married with three children.
Julius studied for his GCE O’level Certificate at Mpraeso Secondary School and then to the Achimota School where he obtained his GCE A’level certificate. He holds a BA (Archaeology/Sociology) and an MA in Archaeology specializing in Museums & Heritage Studies both from University of Ghana, Legon.
Prior to joining active politics, Julius started and developed several businesses in Tourism & Hospitality, Insurance, Automobile Inspectorate, Banking, Construction, Water & Beverages, Real Estate, Broadcasting and Agricultural Sectors. And continues to work with other entrepreneurs to create more jobs.
In active politics, Julius has held positions as the Propaganda Secretary and the Regional Chairman of his party (National Democratic Congress) at the Eastern Region from 2001 -2012.
In public service, he was the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority (2009-2012), Regional Minister for the Eastern and Greater Accra Regions (2013-2014), Minister for Local Government & Rural Development (2014-2015), and the Chief of Staff to President Mahama (2015-2017).
Julius believes in using practical solutions to solve many of the social problems in Ghana as compared to Textbook solutions which most of the time does not take into consideration some of the societal variables which arises as a result of the constant changes to our social cultural structure and demography. He is remembered for his practical solutions to the Street Naming Exercise and National Sanitation Exercises when he was the Minister for Local Government & Rural Development.
As a leader he believes in teamwork and the act of taping on the potential of his subordinates to achieve results.
His interest in Tourism Development and promotion led him into the study of Sociology & Archaeology at the University of Ghana and his further studies of Archaeology at the Master’s level with specialization in Museums and Heritage studies.
He has led and conducted many tours in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and The Gambia.
He is one of the most sought-after tour leaders in the tourism circles in West Africa. Subsequently, he became a JICA alumina and studied Sustainable Tourism Development in African Countries at the University of Ryukus in Okinawa, Japan in 2011 under the TICAD IV sponsorship. He also did further studies and excavations in Norway at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU)in Trondheim, Norway in 2018.
When he leaves active politics Julius plans to serve as a Tour Guide and lead tours in West Africa. Julius’s major dream and vision is to harness the potential of the Ghanaian entrepreneurial spirit into a national partnership with the Ghanaian government which will result in the boost in job creation and economic development on a whole. He is very optimistic about the future of Ghana.
