Kofi Baako (1926-1984) was a

Ghanaian 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 Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

sportsman, teacher and politician. He served as Minister for Defence in the

Nkrumah government Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister and first President of Ghana. Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first government under colonial r ...

during the First Republic of Ghana until it was overthrown in 1966. He was also as Minister for various other Ministries throughout the reign of the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Conven ...

Early life and education

Kofi Baako's father was a teacher. He made Kofi Baako start school when he was only three years old. On completion of his elementary school education at the Roman Catholic School in his native

Saltpond Saltpond is a town and the capital of the Mfantsiman Municipal District in the Central Region of South Ghana. Saltpond has a population of 24,689 people. Economy History Saltpond was in a state of economic decline since the landing beach was ...

, he continued with his secondary school education at St. Augustine's College,

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

Work and politics

Baako became a teacher and later a civil servant. He was inspired by the speeches of

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

advocating for independence for Ghana. This inspired him to write an article, "My Hatred of Imperialism" which resulted in him being fired from his job. He later met Nkrumah who made him editor-in-chief of the Cape Coast Daily Mail when he was still only twenty years old. Another article he subsequently wrote while with the Daily Mail was "We Call for Freedom." This got him imprisoned by the colonial government. Nkrumah and some other leaders of the

were jailed with him. Later when Nkrumah eventually won elections and formed a government, some of these men who were in prison with him became ministers in Nkrumah's government. Kofi Baako was elected as Member of Parliament for Saltpond in the Central Region of Ghana. He was appointed a Minister of State by

in his colonial government prior to independence. He continued in various capacities throughout the duration of the

. In the earlier years of the government, he was initially a Minister without portfolio prior to being appointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting in August 1957, making him the youngest minister not only in

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 ...

but in the whole of the British

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. He was appointed into office when he was only 29 years old. Baako served as

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

between September 1961 and 24 February 1966.

Other activities

He was reputed to have been good in sport and was active in soccer, cricket and was the national table-tennis champion. His hobbies included reading and photography.

Family

Baako had four children. One of them, Kweku Baako Jnr is a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and editor of the ''New Crusading Guide'' newspaper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baako, Kofi Ghanaian MPs 1954–1956 Ghanaian MPs 1956–1965 Ghanaian MPs 1965–1966 Defence ministers of Ghana Education ministers of Ghana Information ministers of Ghana United Gold Coast Convention politicians Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians Ghanaian journalists Ghanaian sportspeople 1926 births 1984 deaths St. Augustine's College (Cape Coast) alumni Ghanaian independence activists

Early life and education

Work and politics

Other activities

Family

See also

References