Ghana Armed Forces

Major General Samuel Anum Odotei was born on 9 January 1948. He enlisted into the Ghana Military Academy and was commissioned into the Ghana Army as Infantry Officer on 18 December 1971.

Major General Odotei is a 1999 graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom. He also attended the Internal Defence and Development (IDAD) Course at Fort Bragg in the United States from July to August 1990 and is a 1985 graduate of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College.

He has held various military appointments including; Company Commander between July 1980 and September 1984, Tactical Instructor at the Ghana Military Academy from September to November 1985 and Battalion Second-in -Command from July to October 1986. Major General Odotei was Directing Staff at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (Junior Division) between October 1986 and April 1989 and was Commanding Officer of an Infantry Battalion between August 1992 and November 1995, during which period he undertook international peacekeeping operations outside the country.
Between November 1995 and December 1998, he was Commanding Officer of the Ghana Military Academy. He became the Deputy Commandant of the Military Academy and Training Schools between January and June 2000 and was acting Commandant from June 2000 to January 2001. He was the Director General Joint Operations at the General Headquarters between March and September 2002.

Major General Odotei has extensive peacekeeping experience. He served as Staff Officer in various capacities between 1980 and 1985. He commanded a battalion on two different occasions with the United Nations Interim Force in the Lebanon (UNIFIL) between September 1992 and June 1993 and again from February to September 1995. He also commanded a battalion in Liberia with ECOMOG between May 1994 and February 1995. He was a Sector Commander with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) between January 2001 and March 2002.

Major General Odotei was the Chief of Staff at the General Headquarters from September 2002 until his appointment on 20 May 2005 as the Chief of the Army Staff. He was succeeded by Maj Gen JN Adinkrah on 3 April 2009.