Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Nathan Apea Aferi (1922 – 8 April 2003) was a soldier and politician in Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. He was a former Chief of the Defence Staff

Chief of the Defence Staff (Ghana)

The Chief of the Defence Staff 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 Ghana Army was formed after World War II out of the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African...

 of Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. He also served briefly as Foreign Minister

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ghana)

The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the Ghana government official who is responsible for overseeing the country's foreign policy and international diplomacy. The minister is usually one of the most senior members of Cabinet....

 of Ghana.

Congo

Aferi served with the United Nations Operation in the Congo

United Nations Operation in the Congo

Opération des Nations unies au Congo, abbreviated ONUC, was a United Nations peacekeeping force in Congo that was established after United Nations Security Council Resolution 143 of July 14, 1960...

 now the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the time, he was a Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 in the Ghana army

Ghana Army

The Ghana Army is the army of the West African nation of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force, and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian Army...

. He is reported to have been on guard at Radio Congo when Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...

 attempted a broadcast in the confusion around the time of Congo's independence in 1960 from Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.

Chief of Defence Staff

Aferi continued in the military on his return to Ghana where he rose to the rank of Brigadier

Brigadier

Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....

. He was promoted Major General and made the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) after the dismissal of Major General Otu, then CDS by President Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...

. He was the last CDS to serve before the overthrow of Nkrumah in Ghana's first military coup.

Politics

Aferi was the first Commissioner for Foreign Affairs

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ghana)

The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the Ghana government official who is responsible for overseeing the country's foreign policy and international diplomacy. The minister is usually one of the most senior members of Cabinet....

 in the National Redemption Council

National Redemption Council

The National Redemption Council was the ruling Ghana military government in from January 13, 1972 to October 9, 1975. Its chairman was Colonel I.K. Acheampong. He was also the Head of state of Ghana due to his chairmanship.-Duration of rule:...

 military government of General Kutu Acheampong in 1972.