Nathan Apea Aferi

Nathan Apea Aferi
16th Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ghana)
In office
1972–1972
PresidentKutu Acheampong
Preceded byWilliam Ofori Atta
Succeeded byLt. Colonel Kwame Baah
Personal details
BornSeptember 1923
Mampong-Akuapim[1]
Died8 April 2003(2003-04-08) (aged 79)
Accra, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
ProfessionSoldier
Military service
AllegianceGhana
Branch/serviceGhana army
RankMajor General
CommandsChief of the Defence Staff

Major General Nathan Apea Aferi (September 1923 – 8 April 2003) was a soldier and politician in Ghana. He was a former Chief of the Defence Staff of Ghana. He also served briefly as Foreign Minister of Ghana.

Career

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Congo

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Aferi served with the United Nations Operation in the Congo now the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the time, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Ghana army. He is reported to have been on guard at Radio Congo when Patrice Lumumba attempted a broadcast in the confusion around the time of Congo's independence in 1960 from Belgium.[2]

Chief of Defence Staff

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Aferi continued in the military on his return to Ghana where he rose to the rank of brigadier. He was promoted Major General and made the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) after the dismissal of Major General Otu, then CDS by President Nkrumah.[3] He was the last CDS to serve before the overthrow of Nkrumah in Ghana's first military coup.

Politics

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Aferi was the first Commissioner for Foreign Affairs in the National Redemption Council military government of General Kutu Acheampong in 1972.[4]

Death

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Aferi died on April 8, 2003, in Accra, Ghana.[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ "Ghana Year Book". 1966.
  2. ^ "Third Man Up". Time. September 1960. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  3. ^ Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr. (December 2006). "When Dancers Play Historians and Thinkers-Part 19". feature article. ModernGhana.com. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  4. ^ "Foreign ministers E-K:Ghana". Rulers.org. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  5. ^ "General Aferi Is Dead". General News of Tuesday, 6 May 2003. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  6. ^ "Rulers:April 2003". Rulers.org. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the Defence Staff
1965 – 1966
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Foreign Minister
1972
Succeeded by