Ebenezer Moses Debrah is a retired
Ghanaian diplomat. He served as Ghana's ambassador to
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, and Ghana's High Commissioner to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
from 1963 to 1980.
Early life and education
Debrah was born on 9 July 1928 at
Koforidua
Koforidua, also popularly known as K-dua or Kofcity, is a city and the capital of Eastern Region in southern Ghana. Koforidua was founded in 1875 by migrants from Ashanti. It is also called New Juaben. The city has a settlement city proper popu ...
in the
Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to:
* Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain
*Eastern Region, Ghana
*Eastern Region (Iceland)
*Eastern Region, Nepal
*Eastern Region, Nigeria
* Eastern Region, Serbia
* Eastern Region, Uganda
* Eastern Region of ...
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 ...
(then
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
).
He had his secondary education at
Mfantsipim School
Mfantsipim is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High School and ...
and
Achimota School
Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school wa ...
where he obtained his Cambridge School Leaving Certificate in 1950.
After a short spell of teaching at
Abuakwa State College
Abuakwa State College is a co-ed second cycle institution in Kibi, Ghana, Kibi in Eastern Region (Ghana), Eastern Region of Ghana.
History
The school was established in 1936 by three elders of the Methodist Church Ghana, Methodist Church at Asafo ...
, he enrolled at the University College of the Gold Coast (now the
University of Ghana
The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities.
The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...
) in 1951,
where he was awarded his Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1954. In 1955 he studied at the
London School of Economics and Political Science.
Career
Following his studies at the
University College of the Gold Coast, Debrah joined the Gold Coast Civil Service as an Assistant Publications Officer in the Information Services Department. He was a member of the first selected officers that formed the nucleus of the foreign cadet who were trained abroad to steer Ghana's Foreign Missions when Ghana attained independence. After his studies at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
, he served as an Assistant to the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs.
Following Ghana's independence, Debrah was posted to the Ghana Embassy in
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...
,
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
as its first Secretary.
In 1959, he served in that same capacity in the Embassy of Ghana in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
(then the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
).
A year later, he worked as a Counselor at the
Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C.,
U.S.A.
In 1962, he returned to Ghana to serve as the Director in Charge of Asia and Middle East Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 1965, Debrah was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ghana to
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
.
He served in that same capacity until 1967 when he was appointed
Ghana's ambassador to the United States of America.
in 1972, he returned to Ghana to serve as Supervising Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In December 1973, he was made Secretary to the
National Redemption Council and to the
Supreme Military Council when it was established in October 1975.
In 1977 Debrah was appointed Ghana's
High Commissioner to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and a year later, Ghana's
High Commissioner to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. He held this appointment until 1980.
Publications
In his lifetime, Debrah has authored various articles that have been published in journals and published books. Some of which include;
*''Will Most Uncommitted National Remain Uncommitted?'' published in the American Academy of Political and Science Journal (July 1961)
*''Understanding Ghana'' published in the Social Science, National Academy of Economics and Political Science Journal (1966)
*''The Psychology of African Nationalism'' published in New Voices of Africa,
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
,
U.S.A.
Honours
* Debrah was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in law (LLD) by various American Universities, in recognition of his contribution towards the strengthening of Ghana-America relations.
* In 2019, he was honoured by the government of Ghana for his "contributions towards advancing and promoting the image of the country".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Debrah, Ebenezer Moses
1928 births
Ambassadors of Ghana to the United States
Alumni of Achimota School
Ghanaian diplomats
Mfantsipim School alumni
Alumni of the London School of Economics
University of Ghana alumni
Ambassadors of Ghana to Ethiopia
High Commissioners of Ghana
High Commissioners of Ghana to Australia
High Commissioners of Ghana to the United Kingdom
People from Eastern Region (Ghana)
People from Koforidua
Living people