Chief of the Defence Staff ( Ghana ) - wikipedia Chief of the Defence Staff ( Ghana ) The Chief of the Defence Staff ( CDS ) is the professional head of the Ghana Armed Forces. He is thus responsible for the administration and the operational control and command of the Ghana military. The CDS is a member of the Armed Forces Council. This council advice the President of Ghana on matters of policy relating to defence and also regulates the administration of the Armed Forces. It also advises the President on the promotion of all officers above the rank of Lieutenant - Colonel or its equivalent. The CDS has also been known as the General Officer Commanding ( GOC ). The CDS is appointed by the President, in consultation with the Council of State of Ghana. The current CDS is Lt. Gen. Obed Akwa. He was appointed by President Akuffo - Addo on 20 June, 2017. Prior to his appointment he was the Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces. Contents 1 History of the post 2 Chiefs of the Defence Staff, 1954 to present 3 See also 4 References 5 External links History of the post The Ghana Army was formed after World War II out of the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force. The officer corps then was entirely European. It was modeled on the British Army. At independence in 1957, the highest ranking Ghanaian officer was a major. Major General A.G.V. Paley served as the General Officer Commanding the Ghana Regiment of Infantry which had succeeded the Gold Coast Regiment between 1957 and 1959. This position was effectively equivalent to Army commander as there was no Air Force or Navy. The position of Chief of Defence Staff was first created in 1959 after the formation of the Ghana Navy and the Ghana Air Force. Major - General Henry Alexander was appointed as the first CDS though he effectively doubled as the Ghana Army commander as well. Since 1961, the position of army commander and CDS have been separate. The first native Ghanaian CDS was Major General S.J.A. Otu. Chiefs of the Defence Staff, 1954 to present The former heads of the Ghana Armed Forces were referred to while in office as either General Officers Commanding or Chiefs of the Defence Staff. No. Portrait Rank Name Appointment Left office Unit Decorations Major General A.G.V. Paley 1954 11 January 1960 Ghana Army Major General Henry Templer Alexander 1960 September 1961 Ghana Army CB, CBE, DSO Major General Stephen J.A. Otu ( first Ghanaian to be appointed CDS ) September 1961 1965 Ghana Army Major General N.A. Aferi 1965 1966 Ghana Army 5 Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka 1966 1967 Ghana Army 6 Lieutenant General J.A. Ankrah 1967 1968 Ghana Army 7 Air Marshal Michael Akuoko Otu March 1968 November 1968 Ghana Air Force OSG 8 Lieutenant General Albert Kwesi Ocran November 1968 November 1969 Ghana Army 9 Air Marshal Michael Akuoko Otu November 1968 June 1971 Ghana Air Force OSG 10 Major General Daniel K. Addo June 1971 January 1972 Ghana Army 11 Major General Napoleon Yaovi R. Ashley - Lassen January 1972 December 1974 Ghana Army 12 Major General Lawrence A. Okai December 1974 November 1976 Ghana Army 13 Lieutenant General Fred Akuffo November 1976 July 1978 Ghana Army 14 Major General Robert Kotei 4 July 1978 23 July 1978 Ghana Army 15 Lieutenant General Joshua Hamidu July 1978 June 1979 Ghana Army 16 Colonel E.D.F. Prah June 1979 July 1979 Ghana Army 17 Brigadier Joseph Nunoo - Mensah July 1979 November 1979 Ghana Army 18 Major General Edwin Kwamina Sam November 1979 December 1979 Ghana Army 19 Air Vice-Marshal J.E. Odaate -- Barnor 7 December 1979 31 December 1981 Ghana Air Force 20 Brigadier Joseph Nunoo - Mensah January 1982 November 1982 Ghana Army 21 Flight Lieutenant J.J. Rawlings November 1982 August 1983 Ghana Air Force 22 Lieutenant General Arnold Quainoo August 1983 September 1989 Ghana Army 23 Lieutenant General W.M. Mensa - Wood June 1990 March 1992 Ghana Army 24 Air Marshal Achilles Harry Kwami Dumashie March 1992 October 1996 Ghana Air Force 25 Lieutenant General Ben K. Akafia October 1996 February 2001 Ghana Army 26 Lieutenant General Seth Kofi Obeng February 2001 February 2005 Ghana Army 27 Lieutenant General Joseph Boateng Danquah 20 May 2005 28 January 2009 Ghana Army Rear Admiral A.R.S. Nunoo ( acting CDS ) 28 January 2009 31 March 2009 Ghana Navy 28 Lieutenant General Peter A. Blay 31 March 2009 28 March 2013 Ghana Army 29 Vice Admiral Matthew Quashie 28 March 2013 December 2015 Ghana Navy 30 Air Marshal Michael Samson - Oje December 2015 February 2017 Ghana Air Force 31 Major General Obed Akwa February 2017 Incumbent Ghana Army See also Ghana Army Ghana Air Force Ghana Navy References Jump up ^ 1992 Ghana constitution - Article 213 Jump up ^ 1992 Ghana Constitution - Article 211. Jump up ^ 1992 Ghana constitution - Article 214 Jump up ^ 1992 Ghana constitution - Article 212 ( 1 ) ( a ) ^ Jump up to : Online, Myjoy. `` President appoints new Chief of Army Staff ''. www.myjoyonline.com. Multimedia Group. Retrieved 2 June 2017. Jump up ^ Army Staff, Chief. `` Confirmed ! President Appoints IGP, CDS & Chief of Army Staff ''. peacefmonline.com. Peace FM. Retrieved 2 June 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Historical Context '' ( PDF ). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 1 Chapter 3. Ghana government. October 2004. pp. 30 -- 31. Archived from the original ( pdf ) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 06. Jump up ^ `` The Security Services '' ( PDF ). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 4 Chapter 1. Ghana government. October 2004. pp. 30 -- 31. Archived from the original ( pdf ) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 06. Jump up ^ Kraus, Jon ( April 1966 ). `` Ghana Without Nkrumah - The Men In Charge ''. Africa Report. pp. 30 -- 31. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Past General Officers Commanding / chiefs of the Defence Staff ''. Official website. Ghana Armed Forces. 2008 - 02 - 06. Archived from the original on 2008 - 10 - 16. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 01. Jump up ^ `` No. 41949 ''. The London Gazette ( Supplement ). 5 February 1960. p. 1005. Jump up ^ `` Farewell Service Held For Ex-Chief Of Defence Staff ''. General News of Friday, 31 January 2003. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 19. Jump up ^ `` New Military Chiefs Take Over Command ''. General News of Monday, 26 March 2001. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 19. Jump up ^ `` Shake - up in Ghana Armed Forces ''. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2009 - 04 - 02. Jump up ^ `` Profile of Vice Admiral Mathew Quashie, Chief of Defence Staff ''. www.highstreetmail.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013. External links 1992 Constitution Chapter 17 : The Armed Forces of Ghana Ghana Armed Forces website Military commander by country Chief of Defence Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros DR Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea - Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Former Biafra Bophuthatswana Ciskei Kingdom of Egypt Ethiopian Empire Rhodesia Transkei Venda Zaire Americas Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Bahamas Barbados Belize Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Paraguay Peru Saint Kitts and Nevis Suriname Trinidad and Tobago United States Uruguay Venezuela Former Confederate States of America Asia Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia PR of China Republic of China ( Taiwan ) East Timor India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen Former Democratic Kampuchea Imperial Japan Mengjiang Manchukuo South Vietnam Europe Albania Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Georgia Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican Former Austria -- Hungary Independent State of Croatia Czechoslovakia Prussia Imperial Germany Nazi Germany East Germany Ottoman Empire Russian Empire Soviet Union Yugoslavia Oceania Australia Fiji New Zealand Papua New Guinea Tonga Vanuatu Supranational European Union NATO Former Warsaw Pact Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chief_of_the_Defence_Staff_(Ghana)&oldid=815092167 '' Categories : Military of Ghana Chiefs of the Defence Staff of Ghana Hidden categories : Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 12 December 2017, at 18 : 43. 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Question: who is the current chief of defense staff in ghana
Answer: Lt. Gen. Obed Akwa