Welcome to our Jubilee Publication marking 50 Years of Ghanaian-German Relations
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Welcome to Ghana and Germany @ 50!
While Ghana celebrates its golden jubilee of Independence during 2007, the date also marks the 50th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Ghana and the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1957, H.E. Hermann Saam took office in Central Accra as the first German Ambassador to Ghana. Soon after, the Ghanaian Embassy opened under H.E. Theodore Asare in Bonn, at the time the Capital of the Republic of West Germany.
The friendship and sound political relations established between our countries 50 years ago have grown and deepened. This has also helped pave the way for many other areas of co-operation in all sectors of society. Looking at Ghanaian-German relations today means not only looking at politics and economics but also at science and education, culture, arts, religion, and sports. Let us also not forget the large number of individuals whose experiences and commitments have given the Ghanaian-German relations a personal face. On the political level, relations are excellent with the successful visits of our Heads of State, H.E. President John A. Kufuor to Germany in 2002 and 2006 and H.E. President Horst Köhler to Ghana in January 2007.
www.ghana-germany-50.de is the result of the desire to portray the rich variety of personal experiences and the history of relations between our countries in an informative and enjoyable way and, at the same time, make it available to a wider public. We have invited Ghanaian and German authors from different fields and professional sectors to write about their experience in the bilateral context or share their knowledge about the history of Ghanaian-German relations. www.ghana-germany-50.de is designed as a “virtual book” in five chapters, inviting you to discover contributions that raise your curiosity or fit your specific interest. You can enjoy the pictures, find information about the contributing authors, and take a look at the list of some institutions and companies who work in the Ghanaian-German context and have supported the realisation of this project.
Our hope is to contribute a moment of reflection on aspects of the past, the present and the future of the cordial and deep relations between our two countries, our Governments, our institutions, our civil society, the private sector, and above all, the individual people in our two countries.
H.E. Ambassador Peter Linder
German Ambassador to Ghana
Peter Linder
German Ambassador to Ghana
Welcome to Ghana and Germany @ 50!
It is a great honour for me to be part of the launch of a document that will soon find international recognition, not only because of the personalities who have contributed articles to it, but also for the sake of the useful and educative information provided in the articles.
A relationship spanning over a period of 50 years is difficult to describe. It is only possible to mention a few landmarks. Indeed, whilst we celebrate Ghana@50, we must remember that not Ghana itself but only her independence from colonial rule is 50 years old. Also, Ghana’s relationship with Germany dates back to many centuries before us.
Cognisance must be taken here of the beginning of this relationship, initiated from the German side by the Brandenburg traders in the 1680s. Reference should also be made to the praiseworthy activities of the Bremer and Basel missionaries and prolific linguists, such as Johann Gottlieb Christaller and Johannes A. Zimmermann in the 19th century and Diedrich Hermann Westermann in the 20th century. From the Ghanaian side, it is worth mentioning the lives of such great personalities as Anton Wilhelm Amo, a Ghanaian child who grew up in the court of the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, studied, and became a Professor of Philosophy at the Universities of Halle, Wittenberg, and Jena in the 18th century, the preachers Eliza Jacobus Capitein and Christian Jacob Protten Africanus in the 18th century, and Kwasi Boakye, the son of the Ashantene Kwaku Dua I, in the 19th century.
Furthermore, there is currently not only a multiplicity of German non-governmental organisations, especially foundations representing the major German political parties, but also various clubs, cultural centres and institutions commemorating German links with Ghana. Our cordial relations that have been engendered by tight family relationships through intermarriage, political and ideological learnings, economic ties, and religious beliefs, amongst many other ties, exist both in Ghana and Germany. Over the years, these ties have been sustained through commitment and co-operation, as the proverb says: “To be able to drink porridge, your two lips must unite at the end of the calabash.” That is precisely what the two lips – Ghana and Germany – have done. Their relationship has grown through mutual respect, in line with what the tolerant chameleon, which adapts to every colourful situation, says: “Beauty in life simply means mutual respect.”
It is on this note, friends of Ghana and friends of Germany, that we welcome you to this website which celebrates 50 years of diplomatic relations between Ghana and Germany.
Dr. Sebastian K. Bemile
Winner of the Goethe Medal
Dr. Sebastian K. Bemile
Winner of the Goethe Medal
