The Minister for Defence is the Ghanaian government official responsible for the Ministry of Defence of Ghana and the Ghana Armed Forces. The Minister for Defence since February 2017 is the Hon. Dominic Nitiwul. He was appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The ministry has had a succession of ministers since independence starting with the Governor - General. During the rule of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, there was no specific minister as the council as a body was responsible for Defence.[1]
| Number | Minister | Took office | Left office | Government | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1957 | 1958 | Governor-General | ||
| 2 | Rev Stephen Allen Dzirasa (MP) | 1958 | 1959 | Convention People's Party | |
| 3 | Kwame Nkrumah (MP) | 1959 | 1960 | ||
| 4 | Charles de Graft Dickson (MP) | 1960 | 1961 | ||
| 5 | Kofi Baako (MP)[2] | Sep 1961 | 24 Feb 1966 | ||
| 6 | 1966 | 1968 | Military government | ||
| 7 | 1968 | 1969 | |||
| 8 | J. Kwesi Lamptey (MP) | 1969 | 1971 | Progress Party | |
| 9 | Bukari K. Adama (MP) | 27 Jan 1971 | 12 Jan 1972 | ||
| 10 | Jan 1972 | 9 Oct 1975 | Military government | ||
| 9 Oct 1975 | 5 Jul 1978 | Supreme Military Council | |||
| 11 | 5 Jul 1978 | 4 Jun 1979 | |||
| 12 | 1979 | 1979 | Armed Forces Revolutionary Council | ||
| 13 | 1979 | 31 Dec 1981 | People's National Party | ||
| 14 | 1982 | Nov 1983 | Military government | ||
| 15 | 22 Nov 1983 | 1985 | |||
| 16 | 1985 | 6 Jan 1993 | |||
| 7 Jan 1993 | Feb 1999 | National Democratic Congress | |||
| 17 | Lt. Col. E. K. T. Donkoh | Feb 1999 | 6 Jan 2001 | ||
| 18 | Kwame Addo-Kufuor (MP) | 7 Jan 2001 | 6 Aug 2007 | New Patriotic Party | |
| 19 | Albert Kan-Dapaah (MP) | 6 Aug 2007 | 6 Jan 2009 | ||
| 20 | 6 Jan 2009 | 18 Feb 2013 | National Democratic Congress | ||
| 24 Jul 2012 | 18 Feb 2013 | Mahama government | |||
| 21 | Mark Owen Woyongo (MP) | 14 Feb 2013 | 16 July 2014 | ||
| 22 | Benjamin Kumbuor (MP) | 16 Jul 2014 | Feb 2017 | ||
| 21 | Dominic Nitiwul (MP) | Feb 2017 | Incumbent | Akufo-Addo government | New Patriotic Party |