Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi (born 1953) is a Nigerian politician and diplomat who previously served as

minister of state for Defence The Minister of State for Defence is a mid-level position in the Ministry of Defence in the British government. It is currently held by Baroness Goldie, who took the office on 26 July 2019. Responsibilities The minister has the following min ...

. He is the son of former military leader

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (3 March 1924 – 29 July 1966) was the first military head of state of Nigeria. He seized power during the ensuing chaos after the 15 January 1966 military coup, which decapitated the country's leaders ...

, and was the ambassador to

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

before former President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

appointed him to succeed Roland Oritsejafor as Minister of state for Defence. While Aguiyi-Ironsi was ambassador to Togo, the choices to replace the outgoing

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (; born 13 June 1954) is a Nigerian economist, who has been serving as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization since March 2021. Notably, she is the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organiza ...

, were reportedly narrowed down to him and

Joy Ogwu Joy Uche Angela Ogwu (born August 22, 1946) is a former foreign minister of Nigeria and a former permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York 2008–2017. She is the first woman to hold the post of Permanent Representat ...

. However, after Obasanjo fired Oritsejafor, Aguiyi-Ironsi received the job of Defence Minister while Ogwu became foreign minister. The two were sworn in on 30 August 2006. On 24 January 2007, Aguiyi-Ironsi announced that Nigeria would send a battalion of

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

troops to

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

References

External links

April elections, a big challenge - Military
Nigerian Tribune Defence ministers of Nigeria Ambassadors of Nigeria to Togo Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Igbo people Nigerian politicians Nigerian diplomats {{Nigeria-politician-stub