Emmanuel Erskine

Lieutenant General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine (born 19 January 1937) is a retired Ghanaian soldier and politician. He is a former Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana Army. He is also a former commander of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Emmanuel Alexander Erskine
1st Commander of UNIFIL
In office
March 1978 – February 1981
Succeeded byLt. Gen. William O'Callaghan
19th Commander of UNTSO
In office
1981–1986
Preceded byErkki Raine Kaira
Succeeded byLt. Gen. William O'Callaghan
15th Commander of UNTSO
In office
January 1976 – March 1978
Preceded byColonel Keith D. Howard
Succeeded byLt. Gen. William O'Callaghan
Personal details
Born (1937-01-19) 19 January 1937
Kumasi, Ghana[1]
Political partyPeople's Heritage Party (defunct)
ProfessionSoldier
Military service
AllegianceGhana
Branch/serviceGhana Army
Years of service1960–1986
RankLieutenant General
CommandsChief of Army Staff

Education and training

Erskine trained in various military institutions in the United Kingdom. He had telecommunications training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in England, completing in 1960. He was also at the Staff College, Camberley in 1968. He also trained at the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1968 and 1972.[2]

Career

Ghana Army

Erskine was commissioned at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in December 1960 into the Signal Corps of the Ghana Army. Erskine has served in various capacities with the Ghana Army. He was Commanding Officer of the Ghana Signals Regiment and later Director of Communications with the Ghana Ministry of Defence. He later became Director for Operations and Planning at the same Ministry from 1971 to 1972. He was the Chief of Army Staff briefly between January and February 1972. He again held the same position from February 1973 to April 1974.[3]

United Nations peacekeeping

Erskine served as the Chief of Staff and Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations Emergency Force Two (UNEF 2) from 1974 to 1976 in Egypt. He was then appointed as the Chief of Staff of UNTSO in Israel between January 1976 and April 1978.[4] He subsequently became the first commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) between 1978 and 1981. Erskine again occupied the position of Chief of Staff of UNTSO and was also the United Nations Secretary General's Representative for Matters relating to UN Peacekeeping Operations in the Middle East from February 1981 to May 1986.[2]

Politics

Erskine was one of the founding members of the People's Heritage Party (PHP). He was the party's presidential candidate during the 1992 Ghanaian presidential election.[5][6] He came fifth with 1.7% of the vote. The PHP later merged with the National Independence Party to form the People's Convention Party (PCP) in 1993.[7]

National Reconciliation Commission

Erskine was one of the nine members of the National Reconciliation Commission which were appointed by the President of Ghana, John Kufuor in consultation with the Council of State of Ghana. The commission was to investigate human rights abuses committed during the five military regimes which have ruled Ghana.[8][9][10]

General Emmanuel Erskine Research and Documentation Centre

The Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa (CPIA) is a peace organization based in Harare, Zimbabwe. It was established in February 2001[11] and has Erskine as the chairman of the board of trustees.[2] The CPIA has the General Emmanuel Erskine Research and Documentation Centre (GERDC) named in his honour and was officially opened in September 2001 by him.[12] The GERDC also launched the General Emmanuel Erskine Annual Lecture Series. The inaugural lecture was delivered by General Erskine himself.[13]

Other activities

General Erskine is the Chairman of the Opportunities Industrialization Centre Ghana Accra Local Programme Committee.[14] He has been a member of the Pugwash council since 1992[15] and was a participant at the 50th Pugwash conference which deliberated on "Eliminating the Causes of War".[16] He served as the Chairman of the Ghana Action Network on Small Arms (GANSA) in 2002.[17]

Publications
  • Erskine, Emmanuel; Kapoor, B.L.; Norton, Augustus R. (1987). Peace, security and humanitarian relief in northern Mozambique: An IPA fact-finding mission. International Peace Academy. pp. 34 pages. ASIN: B00072LYLA.
  • Erskine, Emmanuel (30 September 1989). Mission with UNIFIL: An African Soldier's Reflections. C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd. pp. 272 pages. ISBN 978-1-85065-048-5.
  • Emmanuel Erskine & Peggy Mason (December 1999). DISARMAMENT, DEMOBILIZATION AND REINTEGRATION OF EX-COMBATANTS IN A PEACEKEEPING ENVIRONMENT – Principles and Guidelines (PDF). New York: Training & Evaluation Services/Department of Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations. pp. 119 pages. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  • Peace Keeping Techniques for Africa's Conflict Management. Afram Publications Ghana Ltd. April 2000. pp. 255 pages. ISBN 978-9964-70-209-0.
  • General Emmanuel Erskine Annual Lecture on Peace and Security: Inaugural Lecture Topic, National Reconciliation--The Ghana Experience. Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa. January 2006. pp. 32 pages. ISBN 978-1-77926-027-7.

References
  1. Erskine, Emmanuel A. (2000). Peace-keeping Techniques for Africa's Conflict Management. ISBN 9789964702090.
  2. "BOARD OF TRUSTEES". Official website. Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  3. "Past Army Commanders / Chiefs of Army Staff". Official website. Ghana Armed Forces. 6 February 2008. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  4. Ben M. Cahoon. "Jerusalem:No Man's Land". online encyclopedia of the leaders of nations and territories. WorldStatesman.org. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  5. "Elections in Ghana:03 November 1992 Presidential Election". African Elections Database. Albert C. Nunley. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  6. "Ghana:Presidential Elections". Country-data.com. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  7. "Ghana Appendix A. Tables". Country Studies – Area Handbook Series. Library of Congress. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  8. "Ghana gets reconciliation panel". African News. BBC Online. 7 May 2002. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  9. "Truth Panel Begins Hearings". General News of Tuesday, 14 January 2003. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  10. "The National Reconciliation Commission Report. CHAPTER ONE". Ghana government. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  11. "Welcome to the CPIA website". Official website. Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  12. "General Emmanuel Erskine". Official website. Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  13. "Transcription of Archives and Digitisation, November 21–23" (PDF). Nordic Africa Institute. pp. 6 pages. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  14. "Ghana needs transferable skills to reduce unemployment". Online news. MyJoyOnline.com. 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  15. "MEMBERS OF THE PUGWASH COUNCIL FOR 1992–97". Rome Pugwash Office. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  16. "Eliminating the Causes of War – 50th Pugwash Conference – Pugwash Meeting No. 255". Online newsletter. Archived from the original on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  17. "Security experts- NGOs meet over need to check arms proliferation". Norwegian Institute on Small Arms Transfers. 20 May 2002. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
Military offices
Preceded by
Brigadier H. D. Twum-Barimah		 Chief of Army Staff
1972		 Succeeded by
Brigadier D. A. Asare
Preceded by
Brigadier D. A. Asare		 Chief of Army Staff
1973–1974		 Succeeded by
Brigadier Fred W. K. Akuffo
New title Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
1978–1981		 Succeeded by
Lt. Gen. William O'Callaghan
Party political offices
New title People's Heritage Party Presidential Candidate
1992		 Party merged with National Independence Party to form People's Convention Party
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