Lieutenant General Joseph Henry Smith, the former Minister of Defence and Army Commander of the Ghana Armed Forces, known as J.H. Smith, has passed away at the age of 78.
Family sources have confirmed that he died on the morning of Tuesday, December 19, 2023, following a brief illness.
In addition to his distinguished military career, Lieutenant General JH Smith served as the Minister of Defence during the presidency of John Evans Atta Mills.
He also held the position of Ghana's Ambassador to the USA under the administration of John Mahama.
Biography
Joseph Henry Smith was born on 9 January 1945 in Takoradi. Studied at the Achimota School in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana between 1959 and 1963 where he completed the West African School Certificate. He enrolled as an officer cadet at the Ghana Military Academy. He was commissioned 2/Lt on 16th October, 1965 into the Ghana Army Engineer Corps.
He rose through the ranks and became the Commandant of the Military Academy and Training School at Teshie, Accra in 1993. From 1993 to 1996, he was the Commander of the Second Infantry Brigade Group (now known as the Northern Command) with headquarters at Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
While in this position, he was appointed Special Task Force Commander to restore law and order in Northern Ghana between January and September 1994 during the Konkomba and Nanumba conflict.
In 1996, Smith served as the Company Commander of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in Egypt. He was appointed Chief of Staff of the Ghana Army in 1996 by President Jerry Rawlings. He held this position till 2001. Smith is the only Army Commander to have commanded three formations including two Infantry Brigade Groups. He retired from the military in February 2009 after 39 years.
The late Smith had five children. He was married to Douha Smith.