William Jacob Paatii Ofosu-Amaah was born in Accra, Ghana on July 13, 1950 to Lawrence and Bernice Ofosu-Amaah. As the last born child in a large family, he always received a lot of attention from many family members.
He was a precocious boy and was seen in the barber’s shop mingling with much older people. He took pride in the fact that he played for the neighborhood soccer team. With accelerated promotion, he completed the first 4 years of primary school in 2 years. As a result, throughout his education, he was always the youngest in the class.
He attended Adisadel College in Cape Coast, where he made many friends with whom he kept in touch throughout his life. He was a bright young man and received a degree from the Law Faculty of the University of Ghana at age 20. He continued his legal education in the United States and received a degree from Harvard Law School in 1972.
He met the love of his life when he was 18 in Accra. After a long distance romance when they were both students, he and Waafas were married in London in 1976. The newlyweds spent the first few years of marriage in Rome where Paatii drove his Alpha Romeo, developed an affinity for fine clothing, and they both enjoyed spaghetti alle vongole, which they later cooked often for their children. They had a long and happy marriage and almost 40 years later, they still debated the date of their Anniversary.
Paatii began his legal career as an Associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York from 1973 to 1975, then as a Legal Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN in Rome from 1975 to 1978. This was followed by an illustrious 30-year career at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
Paatii cared deeply about the legal dimensions of international development. He contributed greatly to the World Bank’s operations, overseeing legal aspects of over 500 project financings in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East. He also pioneered, with colleagues, various legal and judicial reform projects.
Appointed in 2003 as the institution’s Vice President and Corporate Secretary, he worked closely with three World Bank Presidents. Paatii also published and contributed to several books, articles and papers on World Bank policies and operations, including, legal and judicial reform, combating corruption, project and infrastructure finance, post-conflict reconstruction, and governance and capacity building in Africa. He lectured at various institutions around the world, including the International Development Law Institute in Rome, the International Law Institute in Washington, D.C., and as a Visiting Professor at Queen Mary College (London University).
After retiring from the World Bank at the end of 2007, he devoted his time to serving Africa more directly. He was the Special Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank from 2008 to 2015. Most recently, he was a member of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel, facilitating negotiations between the Republics of Sudan and South Sudan. He served on the Boards of the African University of Science and Technology, the Nelson Mandela Institution, and the International Law Institute – African Centre for Legal Excellence.
Paatii will be remembered most for his commitment to Africa and love for Ghana, loyalty to his friends and colleagues, zest for life, quirky sense of humor and humility. He believed strongly in the notion that the law can be used as an instrument for change in international development.
Paatii was a proud African with a passionate and unwavering belief in the advancement of the continent. He was a mentor to many, was generous with his time, and he treated everyone he came across, regardless of status or position, with warmth and kindness. He was strong but gentle, and he used his charm as an asset to resolve complex problems during negotiations. Always well-dressed and with an infectious smile and laugh, Paatii could bring levity to any situation. While his mission was African’s development, his professional journey was made special by the relationships with the people he met from all over the world. He paved the way for many more Africans in his field.
Paatii’s self-proclaimed most important, and perhaps, most successful job was that of “family man.” His true joy in life was attending his children’s events; he attended games and performances, even if he had to return to the office afterwards. He danced to any and all music, but loved Ghanaian Highlife and the great songs by Bob Marley. He was a connoisseur of African cuisine, though his favorite food was plantains. At the Ofosu-Amaah dinner table, the plate full of plantains always somehow stayed within arm’s reach of Paatii. He compiled an impressive collection of West African art.
He enjoyed shopping, music festivals, watching sports, and “bonding” as he called it, with his children and many nieces and nephews, who were always welcome at the house. Ghana was more than a homeland for Paatii; it was his “paradise.” He spent as much time as he possibly could in Ghana. He was excited about permanently retiring there to enjoy his new house, spend time with family and dear wife, reconnect with old friends, and become an Accra Boy again.
Paatii’s passing was sudden and unexpected, but we are comforted that he lived his life to the fullest and knew how much he was loved. He experienced every corner of the world, genuinely pursued his passions, was proud of his homeland, and was unabashedly himself. In his personal and professional life, we know that he always embodied the aspiration to “do what you can with what you have to leave a place better than you inherited it,” and for that, we are deeply proud. Paatii is survived by his wife, Waafas; son, Nii Amaah and his wife Sara; daughter, Naabia; siblings Samuel and his wife Virginia Ofosu-Amaah, George K.A. Ofosu-Amaah and his wife Elizabeth Ohene, May and her husband Oko Nartey, Vincent Ofosu-Amaan and his wife Naa Lamiley Amoah; and countless cousins, nieces and nephews. He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.