Lieutenant General Ben Akafia (born 20 December 1940) is a retired

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

military officer and served as the Chief of Defence Staff of the

Ghana Armed Forces The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the state military organisation of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces is the president of Ghana, who is also the supreme military ...

from October 1996 to February 2001. He took over from Air Marshal Achilles Harry Kwami Dumashie and handed over to Lieutenant General Seth Kofi Obeng. He was appointed in 2001 as Ghana's Ambassador to Egypt. He was awarded the National Honour of Member of the

Order of the Star of Ghana The Order of the Star of Ghana is the second-highest award given by the Government of Ghana to any individual who had helped the cause of the country in one way or the other. Recipients of this award are decorated at a state function, chaired by ...

(MSG) by the

President of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is John Mahama, who won the 2024 presidential elect ...

on 6 January 2001. He has five sons and a daughter.

Education and training

He was educated at Keta Secondary School. In 1961 he was enlisted into the Ghana Military Academy, Teshie and was selected for further cadet training at the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He also obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

Degree in War Studies from the National War College in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. He also holds a Certificate in Management and is a member of the

British Institute of Management The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the British Institute of Management (BIM) in 1947 or 1948, merged with the Institution of Industrial Managers (I ...

Career

General Akafia was commissioned into the

Ghana Army The Ghana Army is the principal land warfare force of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast became independent from the British Empire, the Ghana Regiment, Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West ...

on 14 September 1963 as an officer. During his 38-year career, he served in various command and staff positions. Between 1963 and 1982, he served in various major command positions including Platoon Commander, through Adjunct, to Company Commander and ended up as a Battalion Commander. He also served in various military training institutions. First, as the Commandant of the Military Academy and Training School from 1983 to 1985. He was the Chief Instructor and Second-in-Command, and later Commanding Officer of the Jungle Warfare School between 1975 and 1977. He served as a Directing staff at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College. His Senior Staff appointments at the General Headquarters include: Director-General (Personnel Administration, Director-General (Logistics), Director (Military Operations), Director-General (Joint Operations and Plans) and finally the Chief of Staff, General Headquarters. Outside of Ghana, he served as the Deputy Defence Adviser to the Ghana High Commission in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

from 1977 to 1979. He was appointed Army Commander in 1990 and served in that capacity for six years. He was subsequently appointed as the

Chief of the Defence Staff (Ghana) The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the Ghana Armed Forces. He is thus responsible for the administration and the operational control and command of the Ghana military. The CDS is a member of the Armed Forces Counci ...

(CDS) of the

in 1996. He retired honourably from the Ghana Armed Forces on 22 March 2001 and was appointed as Ghana's Ambassador to Egypt thereafter.

Peacekeeping missions

From 1985 to 1987, Ben Akafia served as the principal staff officer at the headquarters of the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 425 and Unit ...

(UNIFIL).

Post military career

President

John Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the tenth president of Ghana from 2001 to 2009. He was the fifth chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008 and his victory over John Atta Mills at t ...

appointed Ben Akafia as Ghana's Ambassador to Egypt in March 2001.

Honours

On 6 January 2001, Ben Akafia was awarded the National Honour of Member of the

(MSG) by the

References

External links

Profile on Ghana Armed Forces website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akafia, Ben 1940 births Living people Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Ghana) Ghanaian soldiers Recipients of the Order of the Star of Ghana Chiefs of Army Staff (Ghana) Ghanaian expatriates in India Keta Senior High Technical School alumni