Edward Quist-Arcton

Quist-Arcton was born on 19 September 1923 in Accra, Ghana (then Gold Coast).[2] He had his secondary education at the Accra Academy where he graduated as the head prefect for the 1942 batch of students, and Achimota College.[2] In 1948 Quist-Arcton became one of the earliest earliest West Africans to enter the Imperial (later Commonwealth) Forestry Institute of the University of Oxford to undertake the National Science and Honours School of Forestry programme which was to be studied for a period of four years.[2] There, he was a member of Brasenose College, and an active student in sports, taking special interest in hockey, tennis, and golf. He also joined the Oxford University Senior Training Corps, enrolling in three summer camps.[2] While at Oxford, Quist-Arcton was also a member of the West African Students' Club, a political group of which he served as it's president in his third year. He graduated in 1952 with honours Moderations in the Natural Sciences, namely; Botany, Chemistry and Geology, and an honours degree in Forestry.[2][3][4]

Following his secondary school education, Quist-Arcton joined the Gold Coast Forest Service in 1946 as a probationer.[2] Upon his return from his studies in the United Kingdom in 1952, he appointed Assistant Conservator of Forests. Working in this capacity, he gained experience in both the Savannah and High Forest areas as a District Forest Officer. At the Savannah areas, he was mostly involved in Reserve selection and demarcation, and also gained information on watershed management. In 1956, he became a Senior Assistant Conservator.[5] As the Senior Assistant Conservator, he was responsible for the Forestry Training School for Rangers and also worked at District level for two years.[2]

Following a requisite refresher course in 1958 at the Commonwealth Forestry Institute, Oxford, he was appointed S.A.C.F. Special Duties for a few months, tasked with the preparation of working plans. He later gained appointment as acting Conservator in February 1959, and substantive Conservator in July that same year.[5] Working in that capacity, he was responsible for the Western and Central Circles and also responsible for working plans at the Headquarters, as well as serving as Headquarters Assistant. In July 1960, he was made Deputy Chief Conservator of Forest, and in January 1961, became Chief Conservator of Forest.[5] Following his appointment,  Quist-Arcton became the first graduate of African descent in a Commonwealth Territory, to be appointed Chief Conservator.[2]

In February 1962, Quist-Arcton became Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture.[6] This portfolio encompassed Agricultural Extension, Produce Inspection,  Agricultural Education, Land Planning,  the Volta River Scheme, Fisheries, Agricultural Resettlement and Farm Mechanisation, Agricultural Statistics, the Cocoa Division, and Statutory Bodies such as; Marketing Boards, and Co-operatives.[2]

While working in his senior civil service capacity, he travelled extensively to collect information about new techniques from sundry sources. He attended the United Nations or FAO conferences in Rome in 1959, Nigeria in 1960, New York in 1963, and Washington in 1963. He also established Land Reclamation and Irrigation Department of the then Ministry of Agriculture, taking special interest in Forest Headwaters Reservation and Watershed Management.

Quist-Arcton served as the chairman of the Ghana Science Association from 1961 to 1962, on the Governing Council of the Commonwealth Forestry Association for three years. Following his retirement from Ghanaian public service, he gained employment at the Forestry division of the F. A. O. in Rome. After working two years in Rome, working in the Field Operations Unit attached to the Director's office, he was made Regional Officer for the Eastern Zone of Africa, stationed in Nairobi, Kenya. He was to oversee F.A.O. forestry affairs in Botswana, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Réunion, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.[2]

Quist-Arcton was married with four children.[5]