President John Dramani Mahama has led government officials, diplomats, and mourners in paying final respects to one of Ghana’s most accomplished diplomats, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, at a state funeral held at the forecourt of the State House on Friday, July 31, 2026.
Ambassador Gbeho passed away on June 14, 2026, at the age of 91, bringing to an end a diplomatic and political career that spanned more than six decades.
President’s tribute: “A sacred trust”
President Mahama’s tribute, read on his behalf by Presidential Adviser Joyce Bawa Mogtari, described the late Ambassador Gbeho as “thoughtful without being hesitant, firm without being confrontational, and humble without ever compromising the strength of his convictions”.
The President said Ambassador Gbeho regarded representing Ghana as a “sacred trust” and discharged his duties with professionalism, quiet confidence, and unwavering patriotism. “Wherever he served, Ghana’s flag flew a little higher because it was represented by a man of exceptional integrity, sound judgment and remarkable intellect,” President Mahama said.
The President highlighted Ambassador Gbeho’s decade-long tenure as Ghana’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 1980 to 1990 as one of the longest and most distinguished diplomatic postings in the nation’s history. “During a period of profound global change, he projected Ghana’s voice with dignity, principle, and clarity,” the tribute read.
Describing the late diplomat as one of Ghana’s rare nation-builders, President Mahama said his legacy would endure through the institutions he strengthened, the diplomats he mentored, and the countless lives he influenced. “His service did not end at our borders. He never stopped serving because service was not simply what he did; it was who he was,” the President said.
A life of distinguished service
Born on January 12, 1935, in Keta in the Volta Region, Ambassador Gbeho was the son of Philip Gbeho, composer of Ghana’s National Anthem. He joined Ghana’s Foreign Service in 1959 after studying English, Philosophy, and History at the University of Ghana.
Over the course of his illustrious career, Ambassador Gbeho served as Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2001 under former President Jerry John Rawlings. He also represented the Anlo Constituency in Parliament from 2001 to 2005 and served as foreign policy adviser to the late President John Evans Atta Mills.
His diplomatic postings included Ghana’s missions in China, India, Nigeria, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. In 2010, he was unanimously elected President of the ECOWAS Commission, a position he held until 2012. He also served as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia and ECOWAS Special Representative for Liberia.
Nation pays tribute
Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, senior government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, traditional leaders, family, and friends joined the funeral service. Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin led Parliament in paying its last respects to the late statesman.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, delivering a tribute, announced that the Ministry would name a facility in its new ministerial block after Ambassador Gbeho in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Ghana’s foreign service. “In recognition of Victor Gbeho’s remarkable service and contribution to the nation, I, along with the management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have decided to name one of our facilities in our new ministerial block after him to immortalise his memory,” he said.
Ablakwa described the late diplomat as a disciplined and principled public servant whose career demonstrated that patriotism is best expressed through competence, integrity, and sacrifice. “Ghana had lost an exceptional statesman, Africa had lost a devoted peacemaker, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had lost one of its finest sons,” he said.
Ambassador Gbeho is survived by his wife, Edith Adoley Gbeho, and their four children.
