Samuel Odoi-Sykes


Samuel Arthur Odoi-Sykes is a Ghanaian diplomat and a founding member of the New Patriotic Party.
He is a member of the Inner Temple, England.
He was called to the bar at the British Inner Temple, London and the Accra bar.
He is a Lawyer and Attorney of the Supreme Court of Ghana and a member of the Ghana Bar Association.

Early life and education

Samuel Arthur Odoi Sykes was born in Accra.
He was awarded his first degree from the University of Ghana, Legon where he studied History. He proceeded to the University of London to study Law he also studied "Foreign Policy of the United States" at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.
From 1958 to 1959 he was General Secretary of the National Union of Ghana Students.

Career

He began his career as a teacher at the Abuakwa State College, Kyebi, in the Eastern Region.
He was later moved to the Ministry of information as an Information Officer.
In 1963 he joined the Foreign Service.

Diplomatic duties

He was the first secretary of the Ghana High Commission to India, New Delhi.
In 1963 he was responsible for public relations in Washington, D.C. He was director of the Department of Information Services of Ghana in the United States and the Caribbean.
He was director of the Overseas Information Directorate for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Accra.
In 1991, he was Minister Counselor and Deputy Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Moscow.
In 1992, he was Deputy High Commissioner in London and served as senior administrative officer in the Commonwealth Secretariate, London.
From October 2001 to August 18, 2002, he was Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada, Ottawa.

Politics

From 1957 to 1959 he was founder and leader of the student wing of United Party at the University of Ghana.
He was a founding member of the Progress Party in 1969.
That same year he was elected as a member of the Accra Municipality.
From 1979 to 1981 he was council for the Accra central constituency.
He was also a founding member of the Popular Front Party.
In 1979 he was elected as a member of Parliament of the Third Republic by the Accra central constituency as a candidate of the Popular Front Party and served as leader of the parliamentary faction for the Popular Front Party in Parliament.
He is a member of the National Executive Committee of the New Patriotic Party.
From 1998 to 2001 he was Chairman of the New Patriotic Party and led the party to victory in the national presidential and legislative elections in December 2000.