Nathan Quao

Quao was born at Adawso in the Eastern Region on 21 November 1915 where his father Daniel Quao of La was based as a general commodities merchant. His mother was Dinah Naa Densua Addy of Ga Mashie. He was a member of the Ga people of Accra. After his elementary education at Presbyterian schools and secondary education at the  Accra Academy, he studied for his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of London as an external student.He later obtained a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) at the University College of the Gold Coast, then a constituent college of the University of London.

His early career was in teaching. He taught at the Accra Academy and was the first headmaster of Keta Secondary School from 1953 to 1956 and served as the Acting Principal of the Winneba Training College. Additionally, he taught at the Department of Teacher Training of the Kumasi College of Technology in 1957 and the Extra Mural Department of the University College of the Gold Coast from 1950 to 1951.

Quao joined the foreign service of the Ghanaian civil service in 1959, becoming a career diplomat and civil servant in Belgrade, Ottawa and Paris and in Ghana's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Later on, he was appointed the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1966.

After the overthrow of Nkrumah, the military junta transferred him to the Office of the National Liberation Council (NLC) where he was originally Deputy Secretary to the NLC government and later Secretary to the Executive Council which acted as a collective Presidency before the election of the President of the Second Republic. He held the positions of Secretary to the Presidential Commission in 1969 and Secretary to the Council of State in 1970 and subsequently Secretary to the President in the Busia government of the Second Republic. Under the leadership of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and the National Redemption Council (NRC), Nathan Quao served as the Secretary to the Council and Head of the Civil Service, retiring in 1973.

He was however plucked out of retirement in 1985 and appointed the Secretary and Advisor at the Office of the PNDC. Upon return to civilian rule in 1992, he became a Special Assistant and Presidential Staffer during the administration of President Jerry John Rawlings from 1993 to 2001.

He was married with two children. Quao was the maternal uncle of the Ghanaian economist and diplomat, Amon Nikoi, who was the Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 1973 to 1977 and Finance minister from 1979 to 1981. In addition, Quao's cousin was the Ghanaian barrister and judge, Nii Amaa Ollennu who was elected the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana during the Second Republic as well as serving as the Chairman of the Presidential Commission and acting President of Ghana from 7 August 1970 to 31 August 1970. His brother-in-law, the Reverend Carl Henry Clerk (1895-1982) was a Ghanaian agricultural educator, administrator, journalist, editor and Presbyterian minister who was elected the fourth Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast from 1950 to 1954. Clerk was also the Editor of the Christian Messenger, the newspaper of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana from 1960 to 1963. Carl Clerk's sons were the academics, Nicholas T. Clerk and George C. Clerk.

Nathan Quao died in Accra on 15 February 2005 of natural causes. He was accorded a state funeral on Friday 8 April 2005 at La by the Ghanaian government as a token of the state’s appreciation to his distinguished service to the country.

He was a recipient of several national awards including Member of the Order of the Volta (Civil Division) and the Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana (Civil Division). In recognition of his service to the Ghanaian Civil Service, the Civil Service and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) renamed its auditorium in his memory.In addition, the Association made a book compilation of Quao’s writings and memoirs in order to preserve his legacy.Furthermore, the Local Government Service of Ghana instituted “an Annual Awards Scheme as part of the United Nations / African Union Public Service Day to be sponsored by the Government of Ghana in his honour.”A boys' dormitory at the Keta Secondary School, Quao House was named in his honour as the founding headmaster of the school.