Michael Francis Dei-Anang (October 1909 – 1977) was a Ghanaian civil servant, writer, poet, and novelist.

Early life and education

Dei-Annang was born in October 1909 at Akwapim-Mampong. His ancestral roots in Akwapim-Mampong link him to the Great Akyepere Clan(Quarter).He was thus related to Nana John Kwame Ayew who was the Chief Cocoa Farmer on the Gold Coast and played a key role in making cocoa a global industrial crop. 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 ...

where he graduated in 1930 as the

head prefect Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

of the 1930 batch of students. He then joined the

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Non-denominational Christianity, non-denominational Day School, day and Boarding School, boarding Single-sex education, boys' school. It is located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region. The school was establishe ...

in 1931 as a pioneer member of the teaching staff and taught there for a period of six months prior to entering

Achimota College 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 schoo ...

in 1932 for his intermediate bachelor's degree. He later proceeded 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 ...

to study at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Career

After his tertiary education Dei-Anang returned to the

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 ...

in 1939 and joined the Gold Coast civil service. Following Ghana's independence, Dei-Anang worked in various ministries in the first republic government. Dei-Anang was Secretary to the Governor-General of Ghana from 1957 to 1959 and permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1959 to 1961. In 1961 he retired from the civil service and was appointed ambassador extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary and put in charge of the African Affairs Secretariat at the Office of the President. He was Kwame Nkrumah's foremost presidential advisor on African issues. In 1966 when 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 ...

was overthrown, he was imprisoned for two months. After his release, he moved to 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 ...

where he taught at Brockport College. His literary works focused on Ghanaian myths and traditions with particular focus on the

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano languages, a language group w ...

culture. Dei-Anang died in 1977.

Works

* ''Wayward Lines from Africa'' (1946) * ''Cocoa Comes to Mampong: Brief Dramatic Sketches Based on the Story of Cocoa in the Gold Coast'', play (1949) * ''Africa Speaks'' (1959) * ''Okomfo Anokye's Golden Stool'', play, (1959) * ''Ghana Semitones'' (1962) * ''Ghana Glory: Poems on Ghana and Ghanaian Life'', poetry collection (1965)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dei-Anang, Michael 1909 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Ghanaian writers Mfantsipim School alumni People from Eastern Region (Ghana)