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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 since January 2025 is the 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.
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the state military organisation of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force.
Jerry John Rawlings was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1993, and then served two terms as the democratically elected president of Ghana. He was the longest-serving leader in Ghana's history, presiding over the country for 19 years.
Lieutenant General Frederick William "Fred" Kwasi Akuffo was a Ghanaian soldier and politician who was the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces from 1976 to 1978, and chairman of the ruling Supreme Military Council and the sixth military head of state from 1978 to 1979. He became leader of the government in a palace coup against General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, and was overthrown and executed in another military coup less than a year later.
The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup d'état on 31 December 1981. He remained in power until 7 January 1993. In a statement, Rawlings said that a "holy war" was necessary due to the PNP's failure to provide effective leadership and the collapse of the national economy and state services.
The Supreme Military Council (SMC) was the ruling government of Ghana from 9 October 1975 to 4 June 1979. Its chairman was Colonel I.K. Acheampong. He was also the Head of state of Ghana due to his chairmanship.
Samuel Azu Crabbe was a Ghanaian barrister, solicitor and jurist. He was the fifth Chief Justice of Ghana since it became an independent nation.
Colonel Roger Joseph Atogetipoli Felli was a soldier and politician who was once the foreign minister of Ghana.
Brigadier Joseph Nunoo-Mensah is a Ghanaian soldier and politician. He is a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces. He was also a member of the Provisional National Defence Council government which overthrew the government of Dr. Hilla Limann in 1981.
This is a listing of the ministers who served in Jerry Rawlings's National Democratic Congress government during the Fourth Republic of Ghana. This started on January 7, 1993, after 11 years of military rule by Rawlings. He retired from the Ghana Armed Forces and served a further two democratically elected terms ending January 7, 2001.
Major Courage Emmanuel Kobla Quashigah was a Ghanaian soldier and politician. He held many prominent positions in the Ghana Armed Forces and was a Minister of State for Agriculture and later Health in the NPP government of John Kufuor between 2001 and 2009. He also has a daughter called Rosalind Eleazar who is a British actress.
Kwesi Armah was a Ghanaian politician and diplomat. He was the High Commissioner (Ambassador) to the Court of St. James in London, England, and the Minister of Foreign Trade in the administration of Kwame Nkrumah before the military coup of 1966. He later served in the Council of State in the government of John Kufuor.
Joachim Amartey Quaye was a Ghanaian politician. He was found guilty of involvement in the murder of four Ghanaian citizens and executed by a firing squad in 1982.
The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning is the Ghanaian government official responsible for the Ministry of Finance of Ghana. The Minister for Finance since January 2025 is Cassiel Ato Forson. Kwesi Botchwey stayed in office the longest, first under Jerry Rawlings as Secretary for Finance in the PNDC military government and then as Minister for Finance in the constitutionally elected Rawlings government at the beginning of the Fourth Republic and was in charge of the Economic Recovery Programme under the auspices of the World Bank which oversaw major economic reform in Ghana.
Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu is a Ghanaian politician who was a member of the Provisional National Defence Council and a former Minister for Defence. He is a founding member of the National Democratic Congress. He is the longest-serving Minister of Defence of Ghana, serving from 1985 to 1999, for 14 years.
Benjamin Kofi Amoah Forjoe was a Ghanaian police officer, diplomat and politician.
Kojo Tsikata was a Ghanaian military officer and politician, who served as the Head of National Security and Foreign Affairs of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). He was listed as a retired army captain in the Ghana Army.
"Ambassador Daniel Ohene Agyekum (USA)". Ghana Web. 28 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
Samuel Nuamah Donkor was a Ghanaian politician and social worker. He was a Minister for Health, Minister for Ashanti Region and a member of the first parliament of the fourth republic of Ghana representing New Juaben North constituency under the membership of the National Convention Party (NCP).
The Political history of Ghana recounts the history of varying political systems that existed in Ghana during pre-colonial times, the colonial era and after independence. Pre-colonial Ghana was made up of several states and ethnic groups whose political system was categorized by 3 main administrative models; Centralized, Non-centralized and Theocratic states. In the colonial era, the British Empire employed different forms of government among its four territorial possessions in the Gold Coast. Indirect rule was implemented in the late 19th century after its success in Northern Nigeria. From the 1940s, native Ghanaians yearned for more autonomy. This resulted in the several constitutional reforms as well as the creation of the office of the Prime Minister in 1952.
Ato Austin was a Ghanaian politician. He was a member of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military government which ruled after the overthrow of the Limann government in December 1981. He held various portfolios in the government led by Jerry Rawlings.