Nathan Anang Quao, MV, OSG (21 November 1915 – 15 February 2005) was a Ghanaian statesman and educationist who served as Secretary (Minister) at the PNDC Secretariat from 1984 to 1993 and Special Assistant to President Jerry Rawlings from 1993 to 2001.[1] A career diplomat and civil servant, he retired as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service in 1973.[2][3][4] Quao was the founding headmaster of Keta Secondary School in 1953 and was appointed the first chairman of the Ghana Education Service Council in 1974.
Early life and education
Quao was born at Adawso in the Eastern Region on 21 November 1915 where his father Daniel James Quao of La was based as a general commodities merchant.[2][3][5] His mother was Dinah Naa Densua Addy of Ga-Mashie.[5] His maternal grandfather, Nii Ngleshie Addy I was of royal lineage and the oldest son of Nii Tetteh Tsuru I, the founder and ruler of the Otuopai Clan in Ga Mashie. He was a member of the Ga people of Accra.[4]
Quao joined the foreign service of the Ghanaian civil service in 1959, becoming a career diplomat and civil servant in Belgrade, Ottawa and Paris and as Counsellor to Ghana's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City.[2][3][6] Later on, he was appointed the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1966.[2][3]
After the overthrow of Nkrumah, the military junta transferred him to the Office of the National Liberation Council (NLC) where he was originally Deputy Secretary to the NLC government before being appointed Secretary to the Executive Council.[7] The Executive Council stood as the collective executive authority until the election of the prime minister in the Second Republic.
In the Second Republic, he held the positions of Secretary to the Presidential Commission in 1969 and Secretary to the Council of State in 1970 and subsequently Secretary to the President upon assumption of the office of president by Edward Akufo-Addo.[2][3]
In 1974, Quao was appointed the Chairman of the Ghana Teaching Council and a member of the Manpower Board.[8] In 1978, he was made chairman of the reconstituted Ghana Education Service Council.[9] In 1980, he became a member of the University of Cape Coast Council.[8]
He was however plucked out of retirement in 1985 and appointed a Secretary at the PNDC Secretariat.[2][3] Upon return to civilian rule in 1992, he became a Special Assistant to Jerry John Rawlings from 1993 to 2001.[10]
Nathan Quao died in Accra on 15 February 2005 of natural causes. He was accorded a state funeral on Friday 8 April 2005 at the Forecourt of the State House and buried at the La Public Cemetery by the Ghanaian government as a token of the state's appreciation of his distinguished service to the country.[2][3]
In recognition of his service to the Ghanaian civil service, the Civil Service and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) renamed its auditorium in his memory.[21][22][23] In addition, the Association made a book compilation of Quao's writings and memoirs to preserve his legacy.[21] Furthermore, the Local Government Service of Ghana instituted "an Annual Awards Scheme as part of the United Nations / African Union Public Service Day to be sponsored by the Government of Ghana in his honour."[21]
The Nathan Quao Street in the Accra suburb, Kaneshie, was named after him.[24]
In 2018, the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) instituted the Nathan Anang Quao annual lectures "not only to celebrate Mr. N.A. Quao a distinguished civil servant but also to continue to emphasize on the critical need for civil and local government service staff to exhibit professionalism and remain non-partisan in the performance of duties and service to the country."[25]
^Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 26 August 1954. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017.
^ abClerk, Nicholas, T. (5 June 1982). Obituary: The Reverend Carl Henry Clerk. Accra: Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Funeral Bulletin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"PRESEC | ALUMINI PORTAL". 11 November 2016. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)