Scores of people from all walks of life yesterday trooped to the St George’s Garrison Anglican Church at Burma Camp for a requiem Mass for a former Chief of Army Staff and politician, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine, who died on May 7, this year, aged 86.

Among the people who attended the solemn service, held as part of activities to bid the statesman farewell, were family members, military officers, politicians from all the political divide and many other personalities.

As a soldier, he rose through the ranks to become the Chief Army Staff and later became a commander of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Tributes

Earlier last Wednesday, the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, called on the family to commiserate with them and express the condolences of the military establishment over the loss of the accomplished soldier.

The CDS described the late General Erskine as a statesman and an embodiment of extreme courage, integrity and an outstanding leader, whose death had shaken the foundations of the country.

Also, commiserating with the bereaved family and the people of Ghana, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, said he was saddened at the passing of Lt. Gen. Erskine.

The spokesman for the Secretary-General, Mr Stéphane Dujarric, in a statement, said the UN recognised the yeoman's work he did as UNIFIL Commander, taking up the responsibility as first Force Commander from 1978 to 1981, a particularly difficult time for south Lebanon.

He said Lt Gen. Erskine worked in very challenging circumstances, during the conflict, to restore international peace and security and assisted the Lebanese Government in restoring its authority in the country’s south.

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"The former UNIFIL Commander served his role well and the Secretary-General, on behalf of the UN, extends his deepest condolences to his family and to the Government of Ghana for their loss," Mr Dujarric said.

Profile

The late Lt General Erskine played varied roles, including as a proofreader for the Daily Graphic, albeit a short stint.

In an interview in 2018, he disclosed that as a young boy of 14 who had just completed primary school, he had the privilege of working as a proofreader for the Daily Graphic in its formative years in 1950 and 1951.

He explained that when his brother-in-law was transferred to Takoradi to open up an office for the paper, he followed him and assisted with the distribution of the papers for two years until he left for Fijai in 1953.

A staunch Anglican, born on January 19, 1935, he rose to become a distinguished soldier of international repute.

Ghana Army

General Erskine was commissioned at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in December 1960 into the Signal Corps of the Ghana Army and 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 and rose to become the Chief of Army Staff briefly between January and February 1972.

He again held the same position from February 1973 to April 1974.

United Nations peacekeeping

Lt Gen. Erskine served as a 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 the Chief of Staff of UNTSO in Israel between January 1976 and April 1978.

He subsequently became the first commander of UNIFIL between 1978 and 1981. Lt Gen. 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.

Politics

General Erskine was a founder member of the People's Heritage Party (PHP). He was the party's presidential candidate in the 1992 Ghanaian presidential election and finished fifth in the polls.

That career was shortlived as the PHP later merged with the National Independence Party to form the People's Convention Party (PCP) in 1993.

National Reconciliation Commission

Lt General Erskine was one of the nine members of the National Reconciliation Commission which was constituted by former President John Kufuor in 2002.

The commission investigated human rights abuses committed under the five military regimes which had ruled Ghana.

Family

The late General is survived by his wife, Rose, a retired nurse/midwife, and eight adult children.

Source: graphic.com.gh