Chemogoh Kevin Dzang Rear Admiral Chemogoh Kevin Dzang ( 27 July 1941 — 29 December 2009 ) was born at Nandom in the Upper West Region of Ghana . He is a retired naval Officer and a former Chief of Naval Staff of the Ghana Navy . He also served his country , Ghana , as a Secretary of State for Defence and an ambassador to Japan with concurrent accreditations to the Commonwealth of Australia , Papua New Guinea , Singapore , South Korea , Malaysia , New Zealand , Indonesia , the Philippines , Brunei Darussalam and Thailand . Early life and education . Born at Nandom in the Lawra - Nandom district of the Upper West Region of Ghana , Dzang was educated at the Nandom Local Authority Primary School from 1948 to 1953 and the Lawra Middle School from 1954 to 1955 . Having passed the Common Entrance Examination , he was admitted to the Government Secondary School at Tamale from 1956 to 1960 . After the General Certificate of Examination in less than five years , he opted to join the Ghana Armed Forces ( Navy ) rather than continue to the sixth form for which he was well qualified and given admission to pursue Science at the same Government Secondary School in Tamale . In a highly competitive selection process , Dzang entered the Ghana Military Academy as an Officer Cadet in September 1960 . While in the academy , he was confirmed a Naval Cadet and proceeded to the Britannia Royal Naval College , Dartmouth in South Devon , United Kingdom , in August 1961 . Along with six other Ghanaian cadets , Dzang joined the British and other Commonwealth naval cadets for comprehensive training , starting as Naval Cadets to Midshipmen at Sea and Acting Sub - Lieutenants . Dzang graduated from Dartmouth in 1964 and returned to Ghana for deployment within the Ghana Armed Forces . Appointments and command history . His first appointment was to GNS Afadzato as First Lieutenant and Second - in - Command . The ship immediately sailed for refit in Gibraltar in the company of GNS Yogaga . Both vessels were inshore minesweepers and the passage was epoch - breaking , eventful , and uncomfortable . In the end however both Officers and Men discovered their ‘ sea legs ’ and developed indomitable confidence to face challenges at sea . While the vessels were refitting in Gibraltar , Dzang was appointed to GNS Achimota for the passage from Southampton to Ghana , with secondary duties as the Navigational Officer . After docking in Tema , Ghana , Dzang was flown back to Gibraltar to rejoin GNS Afadzato for the return passage to Ghana after the refit . Apart from the anxiety of the crew to return home to their loved ones and friends , the passage itself was smooth and uneventful . A few months after the vessels ’ return to Ghana , Dzang was promoted Lieutenant and given Command of GNS Afadzato in 1965 . Soon after assuming Command , the coup d ‘ état of February 1966 took place . By the terms and conditions of service of the expatriate British Joint Services Training Team ( BJSTT ) , no British personnel were to be involved in duties associated with the coup in Ghana . It was therefore the added responsibility of ships commanded by Ghanaian naval officers to undertake all patrol duties at sea and protect the territorial sovereignty of Ghana . When the dust settled , Dzang was appointed the Training Officer at the Takoradi Naval Base in 1967 . In 1968 , he was given additional duties as the Base Administrative Officer . With the BJSTT not in full control because of the Military Government , the Navy in particular was in dire shortage of experienced senior personnel . The substantive Chief of Naval Staff ( CNS ) and Navy Commander , Rear Admiral David Hanson , had also been relieved of his duties and appointed Defence Advisor to the High Commission in London . Air Marshall M . A . Otu , the Chief of Air Staff , was appointed Acting Chief of Naval Staff as well , while Commodore Krishnan of the Indian Navy , was commissioned to review the Ghana Navy . With a Ghanaian - Indian supporting staff , Krishnan ’ s mandate included assessing the personnel situation in order to “ Ghanaianise ” the top jobs and afford senior Ghanaian Officers the opportunity to perform these top administrative jobs . He was also to review the Navy fleet and recommend appropriate vessels for acquisition . The government accepted most of his recommendations and seven of the most senior Executive Officers were selected for these senior appointments ashore and at sea in rotation , so that a suitable candidate would emerge for appointment as Chief of Naval Staff and Navy Commander . Chief of Naval Staff ( CNS ) and Navy Commander . Meanwhile , Commodore P . F . Quaye was transferred from the Army to become the Chief of Naval Staff in 1968 . At the end of the exercise , Dzang was selected in 1972 , while he was at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington India . On his return he was promoted to the rank of Naval Captain and appointed the substantive Chief of Naval Staff and Navy Commander . Dzang was thus the first Dartmouth - trained Executive Naval Officer to assume substantive Command of the Ghana Navy and as the Chief of Naval Staff . Quaye had then left the post on terminal leave , while Commander Amedume acted for him pending the arrival of Dzang , the substantive Chief of Naval Staff . Rear Admiral Hansen had acquired many ships for the Navy while he was CNS . Quaye had also ordered two fast patrol boats , which were under construction by Christof Rutorf in a German shipyard at Mainz Kastel . Many of the vessels in the fleet were now very old and needed refitting . As usual , the necessary funds were not available and so the ships on the inventory were not seaworthy . The immediate problem confronting the new CNS was to refurbish and refit the ships to make them seaworthy , to efficiently perform the Navy ’ s role at sea . There was equally a pressing need for serious sea training for all ranks , so that both Officers and Men would rediscover their “ sea legs ” and love of the sea . Two corvettes , which were in very bad condition , were the first to be sent to Vosper Thorny croft in the United Kingdom for refit . Local refits were also carried out on the Seaward Defence Boats . The Tema Dry Dock and the Naval Ship Yard in Sekondi were upgraded for future local refits . The requisite technical personnel were recruited and trained locally and overseas to meet the daunting task of keeping the small fleet of ships seaworthy . In addition , the new CNS oversaw the completion of the building of the new ships in Germany , and commissioned them into the Fleet as " GNS Sahene " and " GNS Dela " . Four more ships designed specifically for the Ghana Navy were also under construction by Luessen Shipyard in Germany . By the time the four ships were delivered , Dzang had left the Navy but the vessels were taken into inventory and commissioned as " GNS Achimota " , " GNS Yogaga " , " GNS Sibo " and " GNS Gyata " . To date these four vessels from Luessen Shipyard constitute the core of the aging Navy Fleet . While the Ghana Navy was being revamped under his command , Dzang proceeded to the US Naval War College in Rhode Island in 1974 to broaden his knowledge in naval , military , national and international matters , in order to enhance the efficient discharge of duties as Chief of Naval Staff and the Navy Commander . In his absence , the Chief Staff Officer , Commander George Bedu Addo acted for him . zang resumed duties on his return to Ghana in August 1975 . By October 1975 , the national political situation demanded that the service Chiefs assumed the added responsibility of running the Government of Ghana as members of the Supreme Military Council ( SMC ) . The National Redemption Council ( NRC ) , which comprised middle rank officers , had run into several difficulties and in a palace reassessment , it was decided that the ultimate authority should emanate from the top of the Military hierarchy . In the event , the Chief of Defence Staff ( CDS ) , Service Commanders of the Army , Navy , Air force , Border Guards and the Inspector General of Police ( IGP ) were appointed to the Supreme Military Council Government with General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong as the Chairman of the Council and Head of State . The additional responsibility exposed the Service Commanders to domestic and international politics , in addition to the ineluctable enmity and sabotage of Politics . Retirement from the navy . The Head of State , with the concurrence of colleagues in the SMC , delegated the Chief of Naval Staff , as Chairman of the Military Advisory Council ( MAC ) . The successful discharge of responsibilities under this highly sensitive position of trust required dedication and diplomacy . It certainly was no mean task chairing a Council of all the Senior Officers and those in active Command positions in the Armed Forces . As the mandate was all - inclusive , MAC could therefore discuss any subject affecting the Armed Forces , the Government and Ghana in general , providing suggestions and advice to the SMC government . As the Chairman , the responsibility rested with Dzang to convey the advice and / or recommendations to the SMC , of which the Chief of Naval Staff was also a member - a duality which potentially put Dzang in a delicate situation . The bearer of bad news can sometimes be mistaken as bad news itself , exposing the bearer to the wrath of the recipients . In due course , this dilemma befell the Chairman of MAC and he was promptly relieved of the duties of Chief of Naval Staff and Navy Commander , and hence his membership of the SMC and as the Chairman of MAC . For reasons of confidentiality , and pressed several times , Dzang declined further elaboration of this matter . Dzang handed over his duties and went into farming to eke out a living . Fortunately , the “ Operation Feed Your Self ” policy of the military and the SMC was successful and many hardworking Ghanaians were reaping successes in farming . The first few years were difficult for a ‘ salt horse ’ from the Navy , but eventually some good progress was made and life outside the Armed Forces was bearable . Diplomatic career . Soon after the “ honourable compulsory retirement ” of Dzang , General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong offered him a job as Ghana ’ s High Commissioner to the Court of Saint James , United Kingdom , which was declined owing to the unexplained circumstances leading to his removal from office . A year later in 1978 , Acheampong himself and SMC I were unseated and General Fred Akuffo , a former colleague of Dzang in SMC I , became the new Head of State and Chairman of SMC II . After SMC II came to power , Dzang was again contacted to take up office as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom . Again the offer was not accepted at first , but upon persistent appeals , Dzang opted for the Commonwealth of Australia rather than the United Kingdom , with the hope that it would be difficult to secure an agreement since Ghana ’ s most eminent diplomat , Dr . Ebenezer Kodjo Debrah , had only just been appointed to that country . Somehow , the Government succeeded in granting his humble request by switching the posts . Thus , Dzang was appointed High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of Australia from 1978 to 1982 , with concurrent accreditations to Malaysia , Indonesia and Papua New Guinea . The revolution and its aftermath . While at post , the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council ( AFRC ) , under the chairmanship of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings , took over the reins of government in a bloody revolution on June 4 , 1979 , during which some members of SMC I and SMC II were executed by firing squad and other senior military officers sentenced to many years of imprisonment . Life at post during the Revolution was uncomfortable and pensive . The Staff at the High Commission pored through the occasional newspapers received from Ghana ’ s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for any adverse information or otherwise about their boss who they knew was formerly a Member of SMC I . Fortunately , the heady days of the AFRC were soon over and Dr . Hilla Limann took over the reins of Government as the democratically elected civilian Head of State . Dzang therefore remained at post as Ghana ’ s High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of Australia , albeit through the very difficult period from the time of the SMC II government through the AFRC government and His Excellency President Limann ’ s Government , to the early days of Chairman J . J . Rawlings ’ Provisional National Defence Council ( PNDC ) . The Limann Government had actually recalled Dzang for reassignment , but the new PNDC government held the recall in abeyance . In February 1982 , Dzang finally wound down business in Canberra , Australia , and returned to Ghana , and straight back to his rice farm in Kpalgini in the Northern Region , recording successes in rice farming for about three years before a recall to duty as Secretary for Defence in 1985 . It was a difficult tenure of office in the Defence Ministry because the relationship between the Officers and the Men was anything but cordial . It required tactful handling through durbars to right the perceived wrongs and chart a new course away from the animosities and hatred of the past , to a new one commensurate with , and necessary for disciplined services established to defend the country through thick and thin . Dzang ’ s diplomacy would serve him well in this capacity . Progress was slow but successful . On Dzang ’ s own request , the PNDC government released him to return to the farming venture which was going through difficult times due to change in government policy . Acheampong and SMC I had drastically subsidized farming inputs and encouraged everyone to go into farming if they so desired . Civil Servants and Service personnel were encouraged to have backyard farms / gardens . The World Bank , however , managed to convince the PNDC government and coerced policy makers to withdraw the subsidies on inputs like fertilizer , making it expensive and difficult for the poor village farmer to continue in farming ventures profitably . With the policy change , the rice farming industry collapsed and those farmers who failed to recognize the downward spiral in earnings , following poor record keeping , discovered the worsening situation only too late and thus went bankrupt . Kedge Resources , the vehicle on which Dzang conducted his farming , noticed the warning signs and scaled down involvement in rice farming in particular , while emphasizing other areas that did not depend too much on Government subsidies . In 1994 , the NDC government again offered Dzang ambassadorial assignment to Japan . The offer was eventually accepted and from 1994 to 1998 , he served as Ghana ’ s Ambassador to Japan with concurrent accreditations to the Commonwealth of Australia , Papua New Guinea , Singapore , South Korea , Malaysia , New Zealand , Indonesia , the Philippines , Brunei Darussalam and Thailand . During his tour of duty to Japan , high - level official visits were made by President J . J . Rawlings to Malaysia , Singapore , the Philippines and of course Japan in 1997 . Dzang finally retired from public service in 1998 and is self - employed with interests in traditional royal matters bequeathed to him by his forebears in the Nandom area . Family . Dzang was married to Emelia ( Kpinbo ) Dzang . They had three children called Julian Walier Dzang ( deceased ) , Prospera Sorviel ( Dzang ) Tedam and Benjamin Dzang . Death . Dzang died in December 2009 following illness . He was buried on 26 February 2010 at Nandom .