General Thomas Oppong-Peprah is a Ghanaian military officer and former Chief of the 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 ...

. His appointment to the position by President Akuffo-Addo was announced on 24 January 2024 to take effect from 1 February, 2024. He took over from Seth Amoama. Oppong-Peprah also serves as a member of the Governing council of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

Education

Oppong-Peprah started his basic education in Dormaa-Ahenkro Bono region. He attended 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 ...

where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration, specialising in Human Resource Management, in 2004. He also holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) which he obtained in 1998. Furthermore, he was awarded his Master of Arts degree in International Security and Strategy from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, which he completed in 2014. He also holds an Executive Master of Business Administration degree with a specialisation in Human Resource Management from the University of Ghana, which he completed in 2007.

Military career

Oppong-Peprah was enlisted into the Ghana Armed Forces in 1986 as a member of Regular Career Course 26, and was subsequently assigned to the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Throughout his career, he has held various significant appointments, including serving as Aide-de-Camp to the

Chief of the Army Staff Chief of the Army Staff or Chief of Army Staff, which is generally abbreviated as COAS, is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies. * Chief of Army Staff ( ...

and Chief of the Defence Staff for the

from 1995 to 1997. He also served as the Operations/Training Officer for the 64 Infantry Regiment from 1999 to 2000. From 2002 to 2009, he assumed the role of Commanding Officer for the 64 Infantry Regiment, concurrently taking on the role of Commanding Officer for the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment from 2004 to 2005. Additionally, he held the position of Coordinator of State Transport Security from 2001 to 2008 and worked as an Instructor for the Disaster Management Course at the Army Combat Training School in

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 ...

from 2001 to 2005. He further held appointments such as Director of Strategic Intelligence Assessment at the Defence Intelligence Department, General Headquarters, from 2009 to 2011, and Director of Operations and Plans at the Defence Industries Department, General Headquarters, from 2011 to 2013. Subsequently, he served as Director of Army Training and Director of Army Peacekeeping Operations at the Army Headquarters from September 2014 to February 2016 and from February to July 2016, respectively. He then assumed the role of Chief Staff Officer at the same headquarters from July 2016 to February 2017. Before becoming the Chief of Staff at the General Headquarters, he held the position of General Officer Commanding the Southern Command of 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 ...

from February 2017 to January 2019. Following this, he assumed the role of

in March 2020. In the realm of international peacekeeping operations, Lieutenant General Oppong-Peprah served as a Humanitarian Officer for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda from June to December 1994, a Military Observer for the

United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group The United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group (UNASOG) was a United Nations observation mission that was deployed to the Aouzou Strip, in the Republic of Chad. Established in the wake of the Aouzou Strip dispute under Security Council Resoluti ...

in Libya/Chad from March to May 1994, and G4 Transport and Plans for the

United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (; ; ; MINURSO) is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, established in 1991 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 690 as part of the Settlement P ...

in 1993. Additionally, he served as Detachment Second-In-Command/Troop Leader for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon/Israel in 1987, 1989, and 1992.

Personal life

Oppong-Peprah is married with five children. He takes pleasure in activities such as horseback riding, soccer, travelling, watching movies, and jogging. Most people will ask the question, so where is he from, he was on tape to have stated that he's a proud Bono and hails from Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Bono region. They speak the "b3 b3" and he's proud of his Bono heritage.

References

Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Ghana) Chiefs of Army Staff (Ghana) Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{ghana-mil-bio-stub