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Frank George Bernasko (7 December 1930 – 3 June 2010) was a Ghanaian soldier, lawyer, and politician. He served as the Commissioner of Agriculture among others in the
National Redemption Council The National Redemption Council (NRC) was the ruling Ghana military government from 13 January 1972 to 9 October 1975. Its chairman was Colonel I. K. Acheampong, who was thus also the head of state of Ghana. Duration of rule The NRC came into ...
(NRC) military government of General I.K. Acheampong. He was also the founder and leader of the erstwhile
Action Congress Party The Action Congress Party (ACP) was a political party in Ghana during the Third Republic (1979-1981). In elections held on 18 June 1979, ACP presidential candidate, Frank Bernasko, won 9.4% of the vote and the party won 10 of 140 seats in the N ...
and contested the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
in 1979.


Early life and education

Bernasko was born in Ghana. He completed his basic education at
Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...
in the Central Region and Asante Mampong in the
Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...
of
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
. His secondary education was completed at the
Adisadel College Adisadel College, popularly known as "Adisco", is an Anglican boys' boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was established by Rt. Rev. Nathaniel T Hamlyn in 1910. Adisadel College is one of the oldest Senior high school, secondary schools in ...
also at Cape Coast. He then attended the University of the Gold Coast (now
University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...
).


Army career

Bernasko was an officer in 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 ...
and rose to the rank of
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
. He was once the officer in charge of education at the Armed Forces Recruit Training Center in
Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...
. He also served as the Garrison Education Officer in
Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...
. He held the position of Director of Studies at the Ghana Military Academy and Training School at
Teshie Teshie is a coastal town in the Ledzokuku Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana. Teshie is the ninth most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of 171,875 people. Politics Teshie is in t ...
in Accra. He later became the Director of Education for 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 ...
.


Politics


Military government

After the coup d'état of 13 January 1972 which overthrew the
Busia government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Busia's Progress Party government during the Second Republic of Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the ...
, he was appointed as the Central Regional Commissioner. He later also served as the Commissioner of Agriculture and then the Commissioner for the newly created ministry of Cocoa Affairs. He is also credited with being instrumental in the completion of various projects in the Region including the Regional House of Chiefs, the moving of prisons from the
Cape Coast Castle Cape Coast Castle () is one of about forty slave fort, "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast (region), Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or Factory ( ...
and the Anomabo Fort. While Commissioner for Agriculture, he supervised the "Operation Feed Yourself" programme geared towards ensuring national food self-sufficiency. Bernasko is also credited with the success of the Dawhenya Irrigation Project and the increased uptake of agriculture which led to the first national agricultural show in 1974.


1979 elections

Bernasko was one of the founders of the Action Congress Party, which was formed when the ban on party politics was raised in 1978. He contested the presidential elections in 1979 and came fourth, polling over 9% of the valid votes cast.


National Reconciliation Commission hearings

Bernasko appeared before the National Reconciliation Commission to answer allegations of abuse of human rights while serving as Central Regional Commissioner in the NRC military regime. He denied these allegations.


Retirement and death

Frank Bernasko took up private legal practice after leaving the NRC government. In later life, he resided in the United Kingdom. He died in June 2010 at the
St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It shares its main hospital site i ...
in
Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...
, in the south of London.


Honours

Bernasko was honoured by the chiefs and people of the Central Region during the
Oguaa Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region of Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Accra. The city is one of the most historically significant settl ...
Fetu Afahye The Fetu Afahye is a festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of Cape Coast in the Central region of Ghana. The festival is celebrated on the first Saturday in the month of September every year. It is named after the 17thCentury Aboriginal Gu ...
in 2008. This was in recognition of his services to the region especially when he was the Regional Commissioner in the NRC regime.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernasko, Frank 1930 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers Ghanaian soldiers Agriculture ministers of Ghana University of Ghana alumni Candidates for President of Ghana