President John Dramani Mahama was on Tuesday formally notified about the passing of Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, one of Ghana’s distinguished diplomats and elder statesmen.
The family called on President Mahama at Jubilee House to formally notify him about the passing of their patriarch.
The family delegation noted that cultural and diplomatic protocol required a formal notification to the President before any public announcement of Ambassador Gbeho’s death.
President Mahama received the family and offered his condolences, reflecting on Ambassador Gbeho’s towering contributions to Ghana, the West African sub-region, and the broader international community.
Funeral arrangements, the family said, would be announced in due course.
Ambassador Gbeho passed away on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at the age of 91.
A life of distinguished service
Born on January 12, 1935, in Keta in the Volta Region, Ambassador Gbeho was the son of Philip Gbeho, the composer who arranged Ghana’s national anthem.
Trained as a lawyer, Ambassador Gbeho joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Service and served in various capacities at Ghana’s diplomatic missions abroad, with postings in China, India, Nigeria, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.
He served as Deputy High Commissioner to the Court of St. James’s in the United Kingdom from 1972 to 1976, and subsequently as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ghana to the European offices of the United Nations in Geneva from 1978 to 1980, with concurrent accreditation to UNIDO in Vienna, Austria.
From 1980 to 1990, he served as Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, concurrently accredited to Cuba, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
During that tenure, he served as President of the United Nations Security Council twice, in 1986 and 1987.
In July 1994, the UN Secretary-General appointed him Special Representative to Somalia, and in September 1995, then-ECOWAS Chairman Jerry Rawlings appointed him ECOWAS Special Representative for Liberia.
Ambassador Gbeho served as Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry John Rawlings, and subsequently elected to represent the Anlo constituency in Parliament as an independent candidate, serving from January 2001 to January 2005. He later served as a foreign policy adviser to President John Evans Atta Mills.
In 2010, he was unanimously elected President of the ECOWAS Commission at the 37th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the 15 member states, a position he held until 2012.
Family of national legacy
Beyond his public service, Ambassador Gbeho belonged to a family renowned for its contributions to Ghana’s national life.
He was the son of Philip Gbeho, the celebrated composer of Ghana’s national anthem, and an uncle of the late international broadcaster Komla Dumor.
The ECOWAS Commission, in a condolence message to President Mahama, the Government and people of Ghana, and to the Gbeho family, described him as “an accomplished diplomat, an esteemed regional leader, and a dedicated servant of peace and integration.”
