Komla Agbeli Gbedemah (17

June June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of su ...

1913 – 11 July 1998) was a

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 ...

ian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and Minister for Finance in Ghana's

Nkrumah government Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister of Ghana, Prime Minister and first President of Ghana. Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first gover ...

between 1954 and 1961. Known popularly as "Afro Gbede", he was an indigene of

Anyako Anyako is a town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is bordered at the south by the Keta Lagoon. The inhabitants of the town mainly belong to the Ewe people, Ewe tribe. Tracing its establishment to a settlement founded by the Anlos during the mig ...

in the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...

Early life and career

Komla Gbedemah was born on 17

1913 in

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, of Ewe parentage. He attended

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 ...

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 ...

for his secondary education from 1925 to 1929 and

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school ...

from 1929 to 1933. He became employed as a teacher at a school in the Akuapem District in The Gold Coast. In 1939, he became a Science Master at

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Single-sex education, boys' high school located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. It admits both boarding and day students. Founded as a private school in 1931, it gained the status of a Government ...

in Jamestown. Alongside teaching, he engaged in the timber and confectionery business. In 1943, he quit his teaching role at Accra Academy to engage in the timber trade full-time.

Political career

Gbedemah was originally a member of the

United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was an early nationalist movement British colony of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) that sought independence after the Second World War. It was founded in August 1947 with the aim of self-government "i ...

. He left with Dr

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

to form the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGC ...

(CPP). Gbedemah was an important member of the CPP because of his organizational ability. He was influential in getting Nkrumah elected to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

on 8

February February is the second month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the February 29, 29th day being called the ''leap day''. February is the third a ...

1951 at the Elections for the Legislative Assembly. He organized Nkrumah's entire campaign while Nkrumah was still in prison, detained by the colonial government. Nkrumah duly won the

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 ...

Central Municipal seat. This led to Nkrumah being released on 12 February 1951 and his being invited to form a government. Gbedemah is in some reports named as being the first to welcome Nkrumah after his release from Fort James prison.Birmingham, David. ''Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism'' (rev. ed.), Ohio University Press, 1998. Gbedemah, who himself got elected into the Legislative Assembly, became the first Ghanaian

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

and Labour in Nkrumah's government. In 1954, he became the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, a position he held for seven years. He was influential in getting an initially reluctant

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government to back the building of the

Akosombo Dam The Akosombo Dam, also known as the Volta Dam, is a Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric dam on the Volta River in southeastern Ghana in the Akosombo gorge and part of the Volta River Authority. The construction of the dam flooded part of the Volta Riv ...

. Later, as his relationship with Nkrumah deteriorated, Gbedemah was demoted by Nkrumah to the post of Minister of Health in

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

1961. It is alleged by US sources that at a point, Gbedemah was considering the overthrow of Nkrumah. He is quoted as saying: "I would be sorry to have to do it but country has had enough of Nkrumah's arrogance, whims and madness." Nkrumah demanded Gbedemah's resignation in September 1961. Gbedemah was forced into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

later the same year, after worsening relations between him and Nkrumah over what he perceived to be Nkrumah's financial indiscipline. He is alleged to have fled as there were plans to place him under preventive detention. While in exile, he is known to have continued to lobby the US over the

Akosombo dam The Akosombo Dam, also known as the Volta Dam, is a Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric dam on the Volta River in southeastern Ghana in the Akosombo gorge and part of the Volta River Authority. The construction of the dam flooded part of the Volta Riv ...

project. Gbedemah formed and led the

National Alliance of Liberals The National Alliance of Liberals (NAL) was a political party in Ghana during the Second Republic (1969–1972). The party was formed after the ban on party politics was lifted in May 1969 and was dissolved along with all other political par ...

into the 1969 general election. His campaign slogan "Say it loud, I am black and proud!" was taken from the popular

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

tune. After the election, Gbedemah was barred from taking his seat in parliament. This followed a

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruling, upholding the NLC barring members of the CPP accused of financial crimes from holding public office for ten years. This decision led him to retire from active involvement in politics. From 1957 to 1961, Gbedemah served as President of the

World Federalist Movement World federalism or global federalism is a political ideology advocating a democratic, federal world government. A world federation would have authority on issues of global reach, while the members of such a federation would retain authority ove ...

, an international non-governmental organization promoting federal world government. He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a world constitution. As a result, for the first time in human history, a

World Constituent Assembly The World Constitutional Convention (WCC), also known as the World Constituent Assembly (WCA) or the First World Constituent Assembly, took place in Interlaken, Switzerland and Wolfach, Germany, 1968. The convention aimed to foster global coopera ...

convened to draft and adopt the Constitution for the Federation of Earth.

Howard Johnson's restaurant incident

In the United States, Gbedemah is most widely known from an incident on 10 October 1957 when U.S. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

apologized to him after he was refused service in a

Howard Johnson's Howard Johnson by Wyndham, still commonly referred to as Howard Johnson's, is an American hotel brand with over 200 hotels in 15 countries. It was also formerly a Chain store, restaurant chain, which at one time was the largest in the U.S., wit ...

restaurant in

Dover, Delaware Dover ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and the List of municipalities in Delaware, second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, Delaware, Kent County and the princ ...

. Gbedemah told the staff: "The people here are of a lower social status than I am, but they can drink here and we can't. You can keep the orange juice and the change, but this is not the last you have heard of this." The incident resulted in Gbedemah being invited to breakfast at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Positions

''For ministerial positions, see succession box.'' *Leader, People's Movement for Freedom and Justice (1991 – ?) *Founder and Leader, National Alliance of Liberals (1969) *Member, Legislative Assembly, Ghana (1951 – ?) *Manager and Editor, '' Accra Evening News'' (1949 – ?) *Vice Chairman,

(1949 – ?)

Works

*Gbedemah, K. A. It will not be "work and happiness for all"; an open letter being also an appeal to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and comment on and criticism of the proposed new 7 year Ghana development plan. .p. 1962. 2p

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gbedemah, Komla Agbeli 1913 births 1998 deaths Ghanaian MPs 1951–1954 Ghanaian MPs 1954–1956 Ghanaian MPs 1956–1965 Ghanaian MPs 1965–1966 Finance ministers of Ghana Ministers for health of Ghana Labour ministers of Ghana Industry ministers of Ghana Trade ministers of Ghana United Gold Coast Convention politicians Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians National Alliance of Liberals politicians Ewe people Ghanaian independence activists Alumni of Achimota School Alumni of Adisadel College World Constitutional Convention call signatories