Fred Akuffo

Lieutenant General Frederick William "Fred" Kwasi Akuffo (21 March 1937 – 26 June 1979) was a soldier and politician. He was a Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and a Head of state and chairman of the ruling Supreme Military Council (SMC) in Ghana from 1978 to 1979. He came to power in a military coup, was overthrown in another military coup and executed three weeks later.[1]

Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo
Lt. Gen. Fred Akuffo
7th Head of state of Ghana
In office 5 July 1978 – 4 June 1979
Deputy	Lt. Gen. Joshua Hamidu
Preceded by	General Acheampong
Succeeded by	Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings
Personal details
Born	21 March 1937 Akropong, Gold Coast
Died	26 June 1979(1979-06-26) (aged 42) Accra, Ghana
Political party	Military
Spouse(s)	Mrs. Emily Akuffo
Profession	Soldier
Military service
Branch/service	Ghana Army
Years of service	1957 - 1979
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Chief of Defence Staff Chief of Army Staff
Battles/wars	Congo Crisis
Other	Organized Operation Keep Right
Head of State of a military government

Early life and education

Fred Akuffo was born at Akropong in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He completed his secondary education at the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School in 1955 at Odumase krobo, Ghana. He then enlisted in the Ghana Army in 1957 and trained at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK among others, receiving his commission in 1960. He was married to Mrs. Emily Akuffo. He also attended the National Defence College in India in 1973.

Career

While in the army, he served as Commanding Officer of the Airborne Training School at Tamale and later the 6th Battalion of Infantry of the Ghana army between 1969 and 1970. He rose to become the 2nd Brigade Commander. He supervised the change over of traffic flow in Ghana from driving on the left to driving on the right as part of 'Operation Keep Right' which was effected on 4 August 1974. This change over was successful and largely accident free. He rose to become the Army Commander in April 1974 and the Chief of Defence Staff in April 1976.

Politics

On October 9, 1975, Fred Akuffo was appointed a member of the ruling Supreme Military Council government due to his position as the Ghana army commander. On July 5, 1978, he led a palace coup to overthrow the then Head of state, General Acheampong. He continued with the ongoing preparations to return Ghana to constitutional rule but his government was also cut short on 4 June 1979 by a military uprising by the junior ranks of the Ghana military led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council.

Execution

He was executed along with other senior military officers on 26 June 1979 at the Teshie Military Range, Ghana. [2]

References

1. "Brief Profile: Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo". Justice Ghana. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
2. https://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/2014/January-10th/rawlings-confesses.php

External links

• Ghana government official website for the celebration of Ghana's 50th anniversary

See also

Military offices
Preceded by Brigadier E. A. Erskine	Chief of Army Staff 1974 – 1976	Succeeded by Major General Robert Kotei
Preceded by Major General Lawrence Okai	Chief of Defence Staff 1976 – 1978	Succeeded by Major General Robert Kotei
Political offices
Preceded by Ignatius Kutu Acheampong Military Head of state	Head of state of Ghana Military regime 1978–1979	Succeeded by Jerry Rawlings Military Head of state