Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

John E. Odaate-Barnor (30 May 1937 – 31 August 2012) was a

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 ...

airman and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He was a former 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 ...

. He served in this capacity from 7 December 1979 till 31 December 1981.

Early life and education

Odaate-Barnor was born 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 ...

, the capital city 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

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

was at the Presbyterian Primary School,

Mpraeso Mpraeso is a town and the capital of Kwahu South district, a district in the Eastern Region of south Ghana, located at an altitude of 367 m on the Kwahu Plateau, which forms the south-west boundary of Lake Volta. Mpraeso has a 2013 settleme ...

. He proceeded to the Presbyterian Middle School at

Abetifi Abetifi is a small town in south Ghana and is the capital of Kwahu East District, Kwahu East district, a Districts of Ghana, district in the Eastern Region (Ghana), Eastern Region of south Ghana. Climate References External links

P ...

, which he completed in 1951. His

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

was at the

Abuakwa State College Abuakwa State College is a co-ed second cycle institution in Kibi in the Eastern Region of Ghana. History The school was established in 1936 by three elders of the Methodist Church at Asafo-Akyem as a preparatory institution to prepare Ghanaia ...

Kibi Kibi may refer to: * kibi (binary prefix), an ISO/IEC standard binary prefix for units of digital information * Kibi District, Okayama (吉備郡; -gun), a district in Okayama Prefecture, Japan * Kibi, Wakayama (吉備町), a town in District, Wak ...

in the

Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

of Ghana. He graduated in 1955.

Army career

He was one of the first to enlist in the Air Force Cadet in July 1959 and completed his training with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in August 1961 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was commissioned on 20 January 1961. After his return to Ghana from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where he had further training, he was based at the Air Force Base at

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi ( ) is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan District and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city as well as ...

in the Western Region. He became garrison commander in 1972. After his diplomatic service, he was appointed commandant of the Armed Forces Staff College in 1977, the second person to hold this position. He became the Air Force Commander in May 1979. He was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in May 1980 by the

Limann government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Limann's People's National Party government during the Third Republic of Ghana. The Third Republic was inaugurated on 24 September 1979. It ended with the coup on 31 December 1981, which brought t ...

Diplomatic service

He served as Ghana's ambassador to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

between 1972 and 1977 until he was recalled to Ghana during the era of 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 ...

military government.

Other activities

John Odaate – Barnor also served as a member of the Council of the

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 ...

and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tema Development Corporation between 1977 and March 1981. He has also served as the Chairman of the

Veterans Association of Ghana The Veterans Association of Ghana is an association of former servicemen and women of the Gold Coast Regiment and the Ghana Armed Forces. It started originally as the Gold Coast Legion was formed in 1944 as a branch of what was then known as the B ...

References

External links

John Barnor on Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odaate-Barnor, John E. Ghanaian soldiers Ghana Air Force air marshals 1937 births 2012 deaths Abuakwa State College alumni