Major General Neville Alexander Odartey-Wellington (1934–1979), former Army Commander, Ghana Armed Forces (1978–1979), was a Ghana Army officer. He died in action leading loyal troops against revolting forces during the June 4, 1979 coup d’etat in Ghana.
Described as a “soldier’s soldier”,[1] Major General Odartey-Wellington was a product of Accra Academy in Ghana, and various military training institutions including the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), and the United States Army Infantry School (Fort Benning, Georgia). After being commissioned as an officer, he saw action in the Congo during the Congo Crisis, and also served in the Ghanaian UNIFIL contingent in the Middle East.
Under the National Redemption Council (NRC) and Supreme Military Council I (SMC I) governments led by General I.K. Acheampong, Odartey-Wellington served in various military command and civil administrative positions. He was Chief Executive of the Timber Marketing Board, Commissioner (Minister) of Health and subsequently Commissioner of Agriculture, before reverting to the position of Commander, No. 1 Infantry Brigade Group in 1977,[2] (2) . He is believed to have led the palace coup that removed General Acheampong as Head of State in July 1978.[3] In the reconstituted SMC regime or SMCII led by General F.W.K. Akuffo, Odartey-Wellington was promoted from brigadier to major general, and became Army Commander .[4] The SMCII commenced the transition to multi-party democratic rule, but was itself overthrown in a bloody coup on June 4, 1979, during which Major General Odartey-Wellington was killed while leading loyal troops.[5] Although the coup was successful, he was buried with full military honours by the new regime.[6] Major General Odartey-Wellington had previously foiled another coup on May 15, 1979. Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission has highly commended Major General Odartey-Wellington for his sense of duty and “daring leadership”[7] (7) in trying to quell the revolt so as to safeguard the transition process.