In this article, we will be discussing who General Ankrah is, his military career, politics, and sports.
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General Ankrah’s Biography
Joseph Arthur Ankrah, widely known as General Ankrah was born on the 18th of August 1915 and died on the 25th of November 1992. He was born in Accra to the Ga family of Samuel Paul Coffie Ankrah, an overseer for the Christian Missionary Society, and Beatrice Abashie Quaynor, a trader.
Ankrah attended Wesleyan Methodist School in Accra where his nickname was ‘Ankrah Patapaa’ for his ‘forcefulness in arguments and always playing leadership role among his mates’ in 1921. He later entered Accra Academy in 1932, where he established himself as a good football player. Ankrah then obtained Senior Cambridge School Certificate in 1937. He then joined the Ghana Civil Service.
General Ankrah military Career
General Ankrah joined the Gold Coast Regiment in 1939. On the outbreak of World War II, Ankrah was mobilized into the Royal West African Frontier Force. He went to the Marshfield Officer Cadets Training Unit in the United Kingdom and graduated in February 1947 as the first African officer in the Gold Coast Army.
He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1947 and became the first African camp commandant at the Army Headquarters. Ankrah was made the first Ghanaian Chief instructor of the Education Unit. During the United Nations Operation in Congo, he was the Brigade Commander of the force-based at Luluabourg, Kasai in the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo.
General Ankrah’s Political Career
Ankrah became the head of the National Investment Bank after leaving the army. He became the Head if of state and Chairman of the National Liberation Council after the 24 February 1966 coup. In January 1967, he was forced to resign as Chairman of the NLC and Head of State over a bribery scandal involving a Nigerian businessman.
General Ankrah’s Sports Career
Ankrah served as the first-ever President of the Council of Patrons of Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. and steered the football club for a long period.
