Samuel Arthur Odoi-Sykes is a Ghanaian politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served as Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada from 2001 to 2006 and Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1972. He was National Chairman of the

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

from 1998 to 2001 during which the party won its first presidential victory. In the Third Republic, he was Member of Parliament for Ashiedu Keteke (Accra Central) from 1979 to 1981 and Minority Leader of Parliament from 1980 to 1981.

Early life

Samuel Arthur Odoi Sykes was born in Accra. He was educated at

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a non-denominational day and boarding boys' school. It is located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region. The school was established as a private secondary educational institution in 1931 and gained the status of a ...

, graduating as a member of the class of 1948. He matriculated at

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the B ...

, graduating with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

in 1959. Whilst at university, he founded and became leader of the student wing of the United Party from 1957 to 1959 and General Secretary of the

National Union of Ghana Students NUGS, officially The National Union of Ghana Students is the largest student organization in Ghana. However the date of it foundation has been the subject of controversy. The official Facebook page suggests 1964. However Professor Anselmus Kludze, ...

from 1958 to 1959. Odoi-Sykes studied law at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

and qualified as a

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

before being admitted to the Ghana bar. Odoi-Sykes also received a diploma in American Foreign Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Early and diplomatic career

Odoi-Sykes began his career as a teacher at the Abuakwa State College,

Kyebi Kibi or ''Kyebi'' is a town and the capital of the East Akim Municipal District, a district in the Eastern Region of south Ghana, on the eastern slopes of the Atewa Range. Kibi lies at an altitude of 318 m, and, Kibi has a 2013 settl ...

, 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, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia * Eastern Region, Uganda * Eastern Region of ...

. He later joined the Ministry of Information as an Information Officer. He worked in the Central Region as an Assistant Information Officer. In 1961, Odoi-Sykes entered the Foreign Service and was sent to

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

as First Secretary to Ghana's High Commission in India. In 1963, he was re-attached to be responsible for public relations in Ghana's Embassy in

as Press Attaché. He was Director of Information Services Department in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and the Caribbean. He was subsequently appointed Director of the Overseas Information Directorate for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

in Accra. Odoi-Sykes served as Minister Counselor and Deputy Ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He was Deputy High Commissioner in London until the 1972 Ghanaian coup which saw the saw the shutdown of the Ghanaian diplomatic mission in London. After this, Odoi-Sykes served as a senior administrative officer in the Commonwealth Secretariat,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Politics

In 1978, Odoi-Sykes defeated Major C. C. Bruce for the Ward 4 seat in the local government elections, thereby winning himself a seat on a district council in Greater Accra. The elections were held as a measure by the Chairman of the S. M. C. And Head of State, Lieutenant-General F. W. K. Akuffo to return the country to civilian rule and inaugurated on 9 December 1978. Odoi-Sykes was a founding member of the

Popular Front Party The Popular Front Party (PFP) was the main opposition political party in Ghana during the Third Republic (1979-1981). In elections held on 18 June 1979, PFP presidential candidate Victor Owusu won 29.9% of the vote and the party won 42 of 140 sea ...

and selected as parliamentary candidate for Ashiedu Keteke Constituency (Accra Central). In 1979, Odoi-Sykes was elected as a Member of Parliament in the Parliament of the Third Republic. In 1980, after an internal wrangling in the Popular Front Party, Odoi-Sykes replaced

Kwaku Baah Kwaku Baah is a Ghanaian lawyer and a politician. He was a deputy minister in the second republic, the minority leader in the third republic and vice chairman of the National Democratic Congress in the fourth republic. He also served as a mem ...

and served as parliamentary leader of the

. In addition, Odoi-Sykes was the Minority Leader of Parliament because the Popular Front Party constituted the largest parliamentary opposition by number of members elected to parliament. Odoi-Sykes was a founding member of the

. From 1998 to 2001, he was National Chairman of the

and within this period the party won its first victory in the presidential and legislative elections in December 2000. From October 2001, Odoi-Sykes was

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

's High Commissioner to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

after being nominated by President John Kufuor. He seved in this capacity until 2006 when he was replaced by

Margaret Amoakohene Margaret Ivy Amoakohene (born 17 July 1960) is a Ghanaian academic and diplomat. She has served in various sectors of governance and academia. She was Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada in the John Agyekum Kufour administration. She is a senior ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odoi-Sykes, Samuel 1928 births Living people Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the Accra Academy Ghanaian diplomats Johns Hopkins University alumni Ghanaian MPs 1979–1981 New Patriotic Party politicians Popular Front Party politicians United Party (Ghana) politicians University of Ghana alumni Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom Ghanaian expatriates in the United States Ghanaian expatriates in India Expatriates in the Soviet Union