George Kwabena Effah Benneh was a Ghanaian geographer, academic and university administrator who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon from 1992 to 1996.
32 Facts About George Benneh
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George Benneh was a professor and later an emeritus professor of Geography and Resource Development at the same university.
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Between 1979 and 1981, Benneh was the Commissioner and Minister of Lands, Natural Resources, Fuel and Power.
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George Benneh served as the Finance minister from May to December 1981 under Hilla Limann during the Third Republic.
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George Benneh's father was Isaac William Benneh, a Convention People's Party politician during the First Republic under the Nkrumah government, who served as the Minister for Rural Industries and the Member of Parliament for Berekum.
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George Benneh's mother was Theresa Ammea, a farmer and a kenkey trader.
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George Benneh studied at Achimota College during his secondary years from 1950 and 1956 where he obtained the GCE Ordinary Level and GCE Advanced Level certificates.
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George Benneh won the 800-yard race during the Inter-College Games at the Accra Sports Stadium.
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George Benneh was appointed a lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of Ghana, Legon in 1964, Senior Lecturer in 1973, Associate Professor in 1976 and Full Professor in 1989.
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George Benneh was appointed at Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana in 1992 and retired in 1996.
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George Benneh became an emeritus professor of Geography and Resource Development after his stint as a vice-chancellor.
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George Benneh stated that in his academic career, he largely self-funded his own research projects.
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George Benneh was appointed the Commissioner for Lands, Natural Resources, Fuel and Power from 1979 to 1981.
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George Benneh spent a total of ten weeks in prison before being set free by the coup leadership as military investigators had been unable to adduce any evidence of malfeasance.
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George Benneh consulted for many international organisations including the World Bank, United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNESCO, United Nations University in Tokyo, UNFPA, Catholic University Louvain in Belgium, Moscow State University, Russia, and the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
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George Benneh was the Team Leader of UNFPA Population Review and Strategy Development Mission to the Republic of Tanzania in 1991, member of the United Nations University Feasibility Team for the establishment of Research and Training Centre at Lucerne, Switzerland in 1998, and member of the United Nations University International Feasibility Study Group for Research and Training Centre on Nature and Human Security in Bonn, Germany in 2000.
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George Benneh authored over 13 books and booklets and 70 other publications in Geography, Environment, Land Tenure and Land Use, Population, Education and Public Administration.
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George Benneh participated in over 60 International Conferences, Seminars and Workshops including the International Workshop and Rural Poverty Eradication in the 21st Century held in Tokyo in 2000, and the AAU General Conference held in Nairobi in February 2001.
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George Benneh received the United Nations Global 500 award at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 for his contribution to teaching and research in the fields of Population and Environment.
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George Benneh was named the Man of the Year in 1997 by the American Biographical Institute.
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George Benneh was a Member of the New York Academy of Sciences and a Member of New York Academy of Science.
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George Benneh was a Member of the Academia Europaea.
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George Benneh received several state awards from his native Ghana and other states: Grand Officer De Ordre Du Lion, Republic of Senegal, 1981, Companion of River Gambia, Republic of The Gambia, 1981 and member of the Order of the Star of Ghana, 2006.
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George Benneh was awarded honorary doctorate degrees by a number of universities including University of Copenhagen, 1998, Longwood College, Virginia, USA in 1995, University of Tokyo in 1996 and University of Ghana, 2002 and the University for Development Studies, Tamale in 2003 for the role he played in setting up the institution.
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George Benneh launched his autobiography, 'My Time, My Nation' in 2017.
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Nana Akufo-Addo 26.
George Benneh gives a systemic account of his academic and political careers and how he survived serving under different political regimes and military interventions in the country.
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George Benneh donated a multidisciplinary collection of 257 books from his personal library to the Balme Library of the University of Ghana.
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George Benneh set up a project on ICT for the youth in his hometown in Berekum.
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George Benneh was married to Adelaide Mary Benneh with six children, three sons and three daughters, and had 17 grandchildren.
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George Benneh was a Papal Knight of the Catholic Church.
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George Benneh died of natural causes at his home in East Legon, Accra on 11 February 2021, twenty-three days short of his 87th birthday.
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George Benneh's funeral was attended by several dignitaries including the Ghanaian president, Nana Akufo-Addo, former Foreign Minister, Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, lawyer and traditional ruler, S K B Asante and the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Mensa.