Nathan Quao

Nathan Anang Quao, MV, OSG (21 November 1915 – 15 February 2005) was a Ghanaian diplomat, educationist and public servant who became a senior presidential advisor on governance to the administrations of multiple Heads of State of Ghana.[1][2][3] Quao was the founding principal of the Keta Secondary School in Keta, Ghana, started in 1953.[4] He was described by independent observers as part of "diminishing survivors of an era, which many consider to have been high-noon of quality and dedication in the civil service."[3]

Nathan Anang Quao

MV, OSG
Personal details
Born(1915-11-21)21 November 1915
Adawso, Gold Coast
Died15 February 2005(2005-02-15) (aged 89)
Accra, Ghana
Relations
Education
Occupation
  • Civil Servant
  • Diplomat
  • Educator

Early life and education

Quao was born at Adawso in the Eastern Region on 21 November 1915 where his father Daniel James Quao of La was based as a general commodities merchant.[1][2][5] His mother was Dinah Naa Densua Addy of Ga-Mashie.[5] His maternal grandfather, Nii Ngleshie Addy I was of royal lineage and the oldest son of Nii Tetteh Tsuru I, the founder and ruler of the Otuopai Clan in Ga Mashie. He was a member of the Ga people of Accra.[3] After his elementary education at Presbyterian schools and secondary education at the Accra Academy, he studied for his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of London as an external student.[1][2] He later obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the University College of the Gold Coast, then a constituent college of the University of London.[1][2]

Career

His early career was in teaching.[1][2] He taught at the Accra Academy and was the first headmaster of the Keta Secondary School from 1953 to 1956.[1][2] He also served as the Acting Principal of the Winneba Training College.[1][2][4] Additionally, he taught at the Department of Teacher Training of the Kumasi College of Technology in 1957 and earlier on, at the Extra Mural Department of the University College of the Gold Coast from 1950 to 1951.[1][2]

Quao joined the foreign service of the Ghanaian civil service in 1959, becoming a career diplomat and civil servant in Belgrade, Ottawa and Paris and as Counsellor to Ghana's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City.[1][2][6] Later on, he was appointed the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1966.[1][2]

After the overthrow of Nkrumah, the military junta transferred him to the Office of the National Liberation Council (NLC) where he was originally Deputy Secretary to the NLC government and later Secretary to the Executive Council which acted as a collective Presidency before the election of the Prime Minister in the Second Republic.[1][2] He held the positions of Secretary to the Presidential Commission in 1969 and Secretary to the Council of State in 1970 and subsequently Secretary to the Prime Minister in the Busia government of the Second Republic.[1][2] Under the leadership of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and the National Redemption Council (NRC), Nathan Quao served as the Secretary to the Council and Head of the Civil Service, retiring in 1973.[1][2] In 1974, Quao was appointed the Chairman of the Ghana Teaching Council and a member of the Manpower Board.[7] In 1980, he became a member of the University of Cape Coast Council.[7]

He was however plucked out of retirement in 1985 and appointed the Secretary and Advisor at the Office of the PNDC. Upon return to civilian rule in 1992, he became a Special Advisor to Jerry John Rawlings from 1993 to 2001.[1][2][8]

Personal life and family

He was married to Dora Tawia Quao (née Mettle) with two children.[1][2] Quao was the maternal uncle of the Ghanaian economist and diplomat, Amon Nikoi, who was the Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 1973 to 1977 and Finance minister from 1979 to 1981.[9][10] In addition, Quao's cousin was the Ghanaian barrister and judge, Nii Amaa Ollennu who was elected the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana during the Second Republic as well as serving as the Chairman of the Presidential Commission and acting President of Ghana from 7 August 1970 to 31 August 1970.[11][12] His brother-in-law, the Rev. Carl Henry Clerk (1895–1982) was an agricultural educator and Presbyterian minister who was elected the fourth Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast from 1950 to 1954.[13][14] Clerk was also the Editor of the Christian Messenger, the newspaper of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana from 1960 to 1963.[14] Carl Clerk's sons were the academics, Nicholas T. Clerk and George C. Clerk.[15][16]

Death and state funeral

Nathan Quao died in Accra on 15 February 2005 of natural causes. He was accorded a state funeral on Friday 8 April 2005 at the Forecourt of the State House and buried at the La Public Cemetery by the Ghanaian government as a token of the state's appreciation of his distinguished service to the country.[1][2]

Legacy and honours

He was a recipient of several national awards including Member of the Order of the Volta (Civil Division) and the Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana (Civil Division).[1][2] In recognition of his service to the Ghanaian civil service, the Civil Service and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) renamed its auditorium in his memory.[17][18][19] In addition, the Association made a book compilation of Quao's writings and memoirs to preserve his legacy.[17] Furthermore, the Local Government Service of Ghana instituted "an Annual Awards Scheme as part of the United Nations / African Union Public Service Day to be sponsored by the Government of Ghana in his honour."[17] A boys' dormitory at the Keta Secondary School, Quao House was named in his honour as the founding headmaster of the school.[4]

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References
  1. "Nathan Quao to be given state burial on April 8". ModernGhana.com. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  2. "Nathan Quao to be given state burial on April 8". ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  3. "Nathan Quao's life epitomises the Civil Service". ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  4. "School History". Ketasco 1985 Year Group. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  5. "FamilySearch.org". familysearch.org. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  6. Company, Johnson Publishing (18 March 1965). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018.
  7. Provencal, E. N. O. (22 March 1997). The Mirror: Issue 2,208 March 22 1997. Graphic Communications Group. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017.
  8. "ANNUAL REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE STAFF – JANUARY – DECEMBER, 1996". ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  9. "Former Bank of Ghana Governor buried at La". ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  10. "Dr Amon Nikoi, Former Governor of the Bank of Ghana". ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  11. "Official Web Site for the Judicial Service of the Republic of Ghana". 14 April 2005. Archived from the original on 14 April 2005. Retrieved 11 June 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  12. "Countries Ga-Gi". rulers.org. Archived from the original on 3 April 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  13. Company, Johnson Publishing (26 August 1954). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017.
  14. Clerk, Nicholas, T. (5 June 1982). Obituary: The Reverend Carl Henry Clerk. Accra: Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Funeral Bulletin.
  15. "PRESEC | ALUMINI PORTAL". 11 November 2016. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  16. "70 years of excellent secondary education" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2011.
  17. "CLOGSAG honours Nathan Quao". Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  18. Online, Peace FM. "Public Servants Have no Excuse to be Mediocre – Rawlings". m.peacefmonline.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  19. Dominic Moses Awiah & Isabella Hackman (24 June 2017). "Public servants have no excuse to be mediocre – Rawlings". graphic.com.gh. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
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