Ghana was the first African country colonised by European powers to achieve independence under majority rule. During the first three years after independence, from 1957 to 1960, a Westminster system of government was in place and the British monarch, then

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, served as Queen of Ghana and head of state. Although the country was sometimes referred to as the Dominion of Ghana during this period, it never held the formal status of

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...

within the British Empire. The country that became the independent state of Ghana was at the date of independence made up of four separate territories with different statuses in British law: the

Gold Coast Colony The Gold Coast was a British Crown colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa from 1821 until its independence in 1957 as Ghana. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the ad ...

(founded in 1821); Ashanti (a "protectorate" from 1896 and a "colony" from 1901);

British Togoland British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa, under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered into union with Ghan ...

UN Trust Territory United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Nati ...

, formerly a

League of Nations Mandate A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administ ...

); and the Northern Territories (a "protectorate"). Within the legal regime established by the

British Nationality Act 1948 The British Nationality Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on British nationality law which defined British nationality by creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" (CUKC) as the sole national ci ...

(entry into force, 1 January 1949), and related legislation, all British colonies were deemed under United Kingdom law to be "within the crown's dominions". This status continued after independence within the Commonwealth, so long as the new state continued to recognise the British monarch as head of state. From the date of entry into force of the

Ghana Independence Act 1957 The Ghana Independence Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted the Gold Coast fully responsible government within the British Commonwealth of Nations under the name of Ghana. The Act received the Royal Assent on ...

on 6 March 1957 the new state of Ghana became what was in British law termed an "independent Commonwealth country". It remained "within the crown's dominions" until 1 July 1960, when it became the

Republic of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and the Queen ceased to be head of state. The Republic of Ghana remained within the Commonwealth, though no longer "within the crown's dominions". During the period from 1957 to 1960, Kwame Nkrumah held office as

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

(and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

). The monarch's constitutional roles as head of state were mostly delegated to the

Governor-General of Ghana This is a list of the heads of state of Ghana, from the independence of Ghana in 1957 to the present day. From 1957 to 1960 the head of state under the Constitution of 1957 was the queen of Ghana, Elizabeth II, who was also the queen of the Un ...

. The following governors-general held office: #

Charles Noble Arden-Clarke Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (25 July 1898 – 16 December 1962) was a British colonial administrator. Biography Arden-Clarke was educated at Rossall School. He was the Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswa ...

(6 March – 24 June 1957) # William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel (24 June 1957 – 1 July 1960) Following the creation of a republic by the 1960 Ghanaian constitutional referendum, Nkrumah won the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

and became the first

President of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is Nana Akufo-Addo, who won the 2020 presidential elec ...

. Ghana never held the legal status of "

" within the British Empire, a status given to self-governing colonies (given legislative independence by the Statute of Westminster 1931), including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa; as well as India and Pakistan from 15 August 1947, one month after their independence, and Ceylon for a few months of 1948. The status of Dominion ceased to exist in its previous form from 1949, as the former Dominions became "independent Commonwealth countries"; however, the term continued to be used for thirty years, and Nkrumah demanded Dominion status for the Gold Coast in 1951, as one stage in the negotiations for independence.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control States and territories established in 1957 States and territories disestablished in 1960

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Ghana and the Commonwealth of Nations Ghanaian monarchy

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

Government of Ghana Politics of Ghana 1957 establishments in Ghana 1960 disestablishments in Ghana