Albert Kwesi Ocran

Lieutenant General Albert Kwesi Ocran (21 July 1929 – March 2019) was a soldier and politician. He was a member of the Presidential Commission of Ghana between 1969 and 1970. He is a former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and was a member of the National Liberation Council (NLC) military government in Ghana.

Career Ocran was commissioned as an officer in the Gold Coast Regiment of the United Kingdom's Royal West African Frontier Force in 1954. He later rose to become a Colonel in the Ghana army after independence. He was the commander of the First Infantry Brigade of the army now known as the Southern Command at the time of the coup d'état of 1966. He was promoted to Brigadier following the coup and made Chief of Army Staff, a position he held for six months. He was reappointed Chief of Army Staff in May 1967.

Politics The then Colonel Ocran came into national prominence with his involvement in the first coup d'état in Ghana. This led to the overthrow of the Convention People's Party (CPP) government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on 24 February 1966. After the coup, he was one of the eight members of the National Liberation Council (NLC), which replaced the Nkrumah government.

He was promoted to Brigadier as well as becoming a member of the new NLC military government. The commission was replaced by an interim ceremonial president, Nii Amaa Ollennu.

Life after politics Ocran became the president of the Veterans Association of Ghana. He is also one of the people honoured by president John Kufuor in 2006.

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