Honouring Ghana’s diplomatic heroes - Celebrating Ambassador Richard M. Akwei at 100 years

Many thanks to Ambassador Dr W.G.M. Brandful for suggesting and providing the excerpt for today’s column.

The extract is from the book “A Life of Service”, which was published by the distinguished sole survivor of the Group of 10 Pioneer Ghanaian Foreign Service Officers, Ambassador Richard Maximilian Akwei.

On the occasion of the celebration of his centenary birthday, we wish Mr Akwei well for his distinguished service to Ghana, a country he devoted his whole being to serve. Ayekoo!

His centenary reminded me of my former Mfantsipim headmaster, Francis L. Bartels, who assured me, “Haffar, I will live to be a hundred years.” And he sure did!

Such selfless servant leaders remind me of a quote by the Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw: “This is the true joy in life; the being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one.

The being a Force of Nature – not a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances constantly complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy”.

Gold Coast years

Mr Akwei was born on November 27, 1923.

 He was the second of four children, with a younger half-brother, Warren Gamaliel Kpakpo, popularly known as Ghanaba Guy Warren, the ace drummer of international repute, and inventor of Afro-Jazz.

"Akwei”, as he was referred to by his immediate family, attended the Prince of Wales (Achimota) College in 1939, receiving a Cambridge School Certificate from the London University with Matriculation in 1942.

He was an avid athlete and excelled in football, earning the name "Gibraltar" for his tenacious defence play. 

A knee injury forced him to take up tennis, a sport which would remain a passion for the rest of his life.

As a gifted scholar, Mr Akwei won a scholarship for Christ Church at Oxford University, where he received a B.A. (Oxon) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, with a specialisation in International Relations in 1945.

 In 1952, he obtained a post Graduate Certificate in Education from the Institute of Education at London University.

Returning to Ghana in 1945, Mr Akwei served as Court Clerk for Koforidua, Kumasi and Accra. As a lecturer, he taught Economic Theory at the University College of the Gold Coast.

From 1952, he served as the Chief Government District Agent in the Ashanti Region, covering Bekwai, Obuasi and Mampong.

In 1956, he joined the fledgling Foreign Service Corps and was posted to the United Kingdom High Commission in Ottawa, Canada, as a Cadet Diplomat.

Ghana Foreign Service

After Ghana’s independence on March 6, 1957, Mr Akwei was appointed Counsellor and Head of Chancery for the Ghana Embassy in Washington D.C., playing a leading role in the liberation movement of Africa.

From 1961, Mr Akwei was engaged in the projection of Ghana's foreign policy globally, under the country’s first president Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He was a member of Ghana's delegation led by President Nkrumah to the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference, presided over by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

He participated in the negotiations which led to the termination of South Africa's membership in the Commonwealth, a critical point in the global anti-Apartheid campaign.

Mr Akwei was involved in many of Ghana’s foreign policy initiatives during this period.

He was a member of President Nkrumah’s Goodwill Delegation to the USSR, which included participating in discussions with various members of the Soviet leadership, headed by Nikita Khrushchev.

He assisted in the draft agreements which strengthened the relations between Ghana and the USSR.

He served as a member of Ghana's delegation to the Preparatory Conference of Non-Aligned Countries in Cairo and participated in drafting the basic documents for the historic first conference on the Non-Aligned Countries held in Belgrade, in September 1961.

International diplomat

In 1962, Mr Akwei was with the Ghana Delegation to the Colombo Conference initiated by President Nkrumah to find a peaceful settlement of the Sino-Indian Border dispute.

 He helped in the mediating team established by the Conference which went to India, China and Pakistan to discuss issues with the leaders of the three countries; Indian Prime Minister Nehru, Pakistani President Ayub Khan and Chinese Prime Minister Chou En-Lai, respectively.

From 1964 to 1965, Mr Akwei served as Ghana’s first Ambassador to Mexico, establishing the embassy in Mexico City. During this period, he also represented Ghana in various multilateral forums.

He was a member of Ghana's Delegation to the 19th Session of the United Nations General Assembly led by Ambassador Alex Quaison-Sackey, who was the first Black African to serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly.

In 1972, Richard Akwei was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, Beijing. During this period, he observed firsthand the latter part of the Cultural Revolution and witnessed the opening of China to the modern world, with the visit of President Nixon of the United States and the emergence of the internationalist approach to the world by China, championed by Premier Chou-En-Lai and Chairman Deng Xiao-Ping.

In 1994, as representative of the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, and at the request of the newly independent government of South Africa, Mr Akwei served as ambassador-in-residence in Pretoria to organise the training and orientation of current and future South African diplomats for the country’s new global role.

For his contributions to public service in Ghana, he was awarded the Order of the Volta and the Presidential Citation.

The writer is a trainer of teachers, leadership coach, motivational speaker and quality education advocate.

E-mail: anishaffar@gmail.com