Brigadier Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (born 14 February 1939) is a Ghanaian soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He is a former Chief of Defence Staff

Chief of the Defence Staff (Ghana)

The Chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the Ghana Armed Forces. He is thus responsible for the administration and the operational control and command of the Ghana military. The Ghana Army was formed after World War II out of the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African...

 of the Ghana Armed Forces

Military of Ghana

The Ghana Armed Forces consists of the Army, Navy, and the Air Force. It is supervised by the Ministry of Defence . With around 7,000 personnel serving in the Ghanian military, Ghana has the lowest ratio of active troops per thousand citizens in the world, standing at 0.33. However, the Ghanaian...

. He was also a member of the Provisional National Defence Council

Provisional National Defence Council

The Provisional National Defence Council was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. This was on December 31, 1981. It remained in power until January 7,...

 government which overthrew the government of Dr. Hilla Limann

Hilla Limann

Hilla Limann was the President of Ghana from 24 September, 1979 to 31 December, 1981. Eventually he became a diplomat, and served in Switzerland. Limann, whose original last name was Babini, was born in the northern Ghanaian town of Gwolu in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region to a...

 in 1981.

Early life and education

Nunoo-Mensah was born at Winneba

Winneba

Winneba, traditionally known as Simpa, also known as the Land of the Gharteys because its royals and many of its inhabitants bear this name,...

 in the Central Region

Central Region (Ghana)

The Central Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It is bordered by the Ashanti and Eastern regions to the north, Western region to the west, Greater Accra region to the east, and to the south by the Atlantic Ocean.-Districts:...

 of Ghana in 1939. He received his basic education at the Winneba Presbyterian Primary School and Winneba Methodist Middle School between 1945 and 1954. His secondary education was at the Ghana Secondary School, also at Winneba.

Career

Nunoo-Mensah enlisted with the Ghana Military Academy in 1961.

Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah was appointed Chief of Defence Staff by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council

Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, Ghana

The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council was the government of Ghana from June 4, 1979 to September 24, 1979. It came to power in a bloody coup that removed the Supreme Military Council, another military regime, from power. The June 4 coup was preceded by an abortive attempt on May 15, 1979 when...

 government in 1979. Nunoo-Mensah was retired in November 1979 by the People's National Party

People's National Party (Ghana)

The People's National Party was the ruling party in Ghana during the Third Republic .All political parties in Ghana were disbanded following the January 1972 military coup led by Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. When political activities resumed in 1979, there were five parties contesting the...

 government of Dr. Limann.

Politics

Nunoo-Mensah was appointed a member of the PNDC on 2 January 1982. He however resigned in November 1982 over differences with Rawlings.
He is a member of the New Patriotic Party

New Patriotic Party

-External links:*...

. He was the campaign manager for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He was one of the founding members of the centrist New Patriotic Party in 1992, and was also the founder and first chairperson of the Ghana Committee on Human and People's Rights...

's bid for nomination as the party's candidate for the Ghanaian presidential elections

Ghanaian presidential election, 2000

The Ghanaian presidential elections were held on 7 December 2000 with a second ballot on 28 December 2000.Parliamentary elections were held on 7 December 2000.There were seven candidates in the first round of elections on 7 December 2000...

in 1998.

Nunoo-Mensah later defected from the New Patriotic Party to the National Democratic Congress, then in opposition. He and a number of former military and police capos were banned from all military and police installations by the ruling NPP government after they had attended a lunch meeting with former President Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings.

Nunoo-Mensah was very instrumental in the campaign of the opposition NDC in the December 2008 elections in Ghana. He is currently the Security Advisor to the newly-elected President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills of the NDC.