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| Constitution |
 Africaportal  Politicsportal |
The Minister for Defence is the Ghanaian government official responsible for the Ministry of Defence of Ghana and the Ghana Armed Forces. The Minister for Defence from January 2025 until his death on August 6, 2025 was Edward Omane Boamah. He was appointed by President John Mahama at the start of his second stint as President of Ghana.
The ministry has had a succession of ministers since independence starting with the Governor - General. During the rule of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, there was no specific minister as the council as a body was responsible for Defence. [1]
During the years of military rule, the official in charge of the Ministry of Defence was often the Head of state. Thus, Lt General J. A..Ankrah, Lt. General A. A. Afrifa were in charge of the Ministry during the National Liberation Council era between 1966 and 1969. Between 1972 and 1979, General I. K. Acheampong and Lt. General F. W. K. Akuffo took charge of the Ministry under the National Redemption Council and the Supreme Military Council. The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) under Flt. Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings was the first military government not to have the Head of state head the ministry. The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military government appointed civilian ministers to head the ministry.
Mahama Iddrisu has served longest in this office. He was the Minister of Defence for the last seven years of the military rule of the PNDC from 1985 to January 1993. He then continued as the first Minister to be appointed in the NDC government of the Fourth republic by Jerry Rawlings from January 1993 to February 1999, an additional six years making a total of fourteen years.
| Number | Minister | Took office | Left office | Government | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Noble Arden-Clarke | 1957 | 1958 | Nkrumah government | Governor-General |
| 2 | Rev Stephen Allen Dzirasa (MP) | 1958 | 1959 | Convention People's Party | |
| 3 | Kwame Nkrumah (MP) | 1959 | 1960 | ||
| 4 | Charles de Graft Dickson [2] (MP) | July 1960 | September 1961 | ||
| 5 | Kofi Baako [2] (MP) [3] | September 1961 | 24 February 1966 | ||
| 3 | Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka [2] | June 1966 | July 1967 | National Liberation Council | Military government |
| 6 | Joseph Arthur Ankrah [2] | July 1967 | 1968 | ||
| 7 | Akwasi Afrifa | 1968 | 1969 | ||
| 7 | Albert Kwesi Ocran [2] | April 1969 | September 1969 | ||
| 8 | J. Kwesi Lamptey [2] (MP) | September 1969 | January 1971 | Busia government | Progress Party |
| 9 | Bukari Adama [2] (MP) | 27 Jan 1971 | 12 Jan 1972 | ||
| 10 | Ignatius Kutu Acheampong | Jan 1972 | 9 Oct 1975 | National Redemption Council | Military government |
| 9 Oct 1975 | 5 Jul 1978 | Supreme Military Council | |||
| 11 | Lt. General Fred Akuffo | 5 Jul 1978 | 4 Jun 1979 | ||
| 12 | 1979 | 1979 | Armed Forces Revolutionary Council | ||
| 13 | S. K. Riley-Poku | 1979 | 31 Dec 1981 | Limann government | People's National Party |
| 14 | Naa Polku Konkuu Chiiri | 1982 | Nov 1983 | Provisional National Defence Council | Military government |
| 15 | Rear Admiral C. K. Dzang | 22 Nov 1983 | 1985 | ||
| 16 | Mahama Iddrisu | 1985 | 6 Jan 1993 | ||
| 7 Jan 1993 | Feb 1999 | Rawlings government | National Democratic Congress | ||
| 17 | Lt. Col. E. K. T. Donkoh | Feb 1999 | 6 Jan 2001 | ||
| 18 | Kwame Addo-Kufuor (MP) | 7 Jan 2001 | 6 Aug 2007 | Kufuor government | New Patriotic Party |
| 19 | Albert Kan-Dapaah (MP) | 6 Aug 2007 | 6 Jan 2009 | ||
| 20 | Lt. Gen. Joseph Henry Smith | 6 Jan 2009 | 24 Jul 2012 | Mills government | National Democratic Congress |
| 24 Jul 2012 | 18 Feb 2013 | Mahama government | |||
| 21 | Mark Owen Woyongo (MP) | 14 Feb 2013 | 16 July 2014 | ||
| 22 | Benjamin Kumbuor (MP) | 16 Jul 2014 | Feb 2017 | ||
| 23 | Dominic Nitiwul (MP) | Feb 2017 | 6 January 2025 | Akufo-Addo government | New Patriotic Party |
| 24 | Edward Omane Boamah | 30 January 2025 [4] [5] | 6 August 2025 | Mahama 2nd government | National Democratic Congress |
| Cassiel Ato Forson (MP) (Acting Minister) | 7 August 2025 [6] [7] | incumbent | |||