Samuel Odoi-Sykes passes away at age 98,information officer, foreign service officer, politician, teacher

Samuel Odoi-Sykes, a Ghanaian politician, diplomat, information officer and teacher, died October 5, 2026, aged 98.

Born in Accra, he was also known as Samuel Arthur Odoi-Sykes. He attended Accra Academy, graduating in 1948, and later studied at the University of Ghana, Johns Hopkins University and the University of London.

At the University of Ghana, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1959. He began his working life as a teacher at Abuakwa State College in Kyebi before joining the Ministry of Information, where he served as an information officer, including in the Central Region. His diplomatic service included appointment as Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1972 and, decades later, Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada from 2001 to 2006. Odoi-Sykes also held senior roles in Ghanaian politics. He represented Ashiedu Keteke, in Accra Central, in Parliament from 1979 to 1981, during the Third Republic, and was Minority Leader from 1980 to 1981. From 1998 to 2001, he chaired the New Patriotic Party nationally. During his tenure, the party won its first presidential election. His career spanned public information, education, diplomacy and parliamentary and party politics in Ghana.