Lebrecht Wilhelm Fifi Hesse

Lebrecht Wilhelm Fifi Hesse (16 November 1934 – 18 October 2000) was a Ghanaian public servant and the first black African Rhodes Scholar. He served as Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation on two occasions.[1][2][3] He was also a member of the Public Services Commission of Ghana.[4][5]

Lebrecht Wilhelm Fifi Hesse
4th and 7th
Director-General of the GBC
In office
1972–1975
PresidentIgnatius Kutu Acheampong
Preceded byStephen Bekoe Mfodwo
Succeeded byJohn Yaw Assasie
In office
1984–1988
PresidentJerry John Rawlings
Preceded byKwame Karikari
Succeeded byGeorge Aryee
Personal details
Born
Lebrecht Wilhelm Fifi Hesse

(1934-11-16)16 November 1934
Gold Coast
Died18 October 2000(2000-10-18) (aged 65)
Accra, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
Spouse(s)Charity Ceaser
RelationsVirginia Hesse (sister)
Education
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Public Servant
  • General Manager & Director-General of the GBC (1972–1975 and (1984–1988)
Known forFirst black African Rhodes Scholar

Early life and education
Further information: Hesse family

A member of the notable Hesse family, L. W. Fifi Hesse was born on Friday 16 November 1934. He had his early education at Osu Presbyterian Boarding School, Salem and his secondary education at the Accra Academy. In 1952, while at the Accra Academy, he won a national essay competition that was organised by the then Gold Coast authorities to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Two years later, he won a competition that was organised by the New York Herald Tribune to select students for the newspaper's annual World Youth Forum which was held in New York City. Through this experience, he was able to obtain visits to Israel, Egypt and India. He was abroad when he was informed he had gained admission into Achimota School for his sixth form education. In 1957, he gained admission to the University College of Ghana on a Shell Ghana Independence Scholarship, awarded to only four students nationally to mark Ghana's independence.[6] At the time, the university was a constituent college of the University of London external system. He completed in 1960 with his bachelor's degree in History, awarded by the University of London. That same year, he applied for postgraduate study and won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, becoming the first black African and the first Ghanaian for that matter to achieve this feat.[7][8] He read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oriel College, Oxford from 1960 to 1962.[9][2]

Career

On his return to Ghana, he was asked by Kwame Nkrumah to join Dr. W. E. B. Dubois to work on the Encyclopedia Africana which was being funded by Kwame Nkrumah. He worked as a research officer[10] and later became an editorial secretary.[11][12] In 1972, he was appointed director-general of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.[13] He served in that capacity until 1975 when he was appointed Principal Assistant Secretary for the Ministry of Education and Culture.[14][15] He was an Administrator in the Ghana Civil Service and a member of the Castle Administrative Corps.[16] He also served as a Principal Secretary of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Coordinating Secretary's Office[17] and in 1984 he was posted back to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation again as director-general until 1988.[9][18] In 1988, he was appointed member of the Public Services Commission,[19] he served in that capacity until his death in 2000.[2]

Personal life

He married Charity Caeser, a fashion designer, in 1963 and together they had two daughters, a physician and a lawyer, as well as a son, a commercial pilot.[2] L. W. Fifi Hesse's brother, Christian Hesse, served as Ghana's ambassador to the Soviet Union and subsequently to Russia in the 1980s and 1990s while his sister, Virginia Hesse was appointed the Ghanaian envoy to the Czech Republic in 2017.[20][21][22]

Death and funeral

He died of cancer on 18 October 2000.[2] Hesse's funeral service was held at the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu, where he was the Senior Presbyter, after which his remains were buried at the Basel Mission Cemetery in Osu, Accra.[4][5]

References
  1. Ghartey-Tagoe, David Kwesi (28 July 2010). David Ghartey-Tagoe: A Broadcast Icon. Xlibris Corporation. p. 126. ISBN 9781453542071.
  2. "West Africa, Issues 4238-4254". West Africa Publishing Company Limited. 2000: 18. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. "BM/E's world broadcast news, Volume 9". Broadband Information Services. 1986. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Burial memorial and thanksgiving service for the late Mr. L.W. Fifi Hesse, aged 65, member, Public Services Commission, at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu, on Saturday, 18th November, 2000, at 10.00 A.M. : burial at Basel Mission Cemetery, Osu. Osu, Ghana: Legendesignhouse. 2000.
  5. Burial Memorial and Thanksgiving Service for the Late Mr. L.W. Fifi Hesse, Aged 65, Member, Public Services Commission, at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu, on Saturday, 18th November, 2000, at 10.00 A.M.: Burial at Basel Mission Cemetery, Osu. Legendesignhouse. 2000.
  6. "Academy of Europe: CV". www.ae-info.org. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  7. "The American Oxonian, Volumes 47-48". Association of American Rhodes Scholars. 1960: 91. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. Killingray, David (2012). Africans in Britain. p. 230. ISBN 9781136299995.
  9. "Combroad, Issues 58-65". Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. 1983: 50. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. "Africa Diary". Africa Publications (India). 1965: 2368. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "Records of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". Unesco. 1968: 1243. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. "Sr. Du Bois 'Encyclopaedia Africana' May Be Published". Jet. USA: Johnson Publishing Company. 7 January 1971. p. 31. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  13. "URTNA Review: Revue de LÚRTNA". Union of National Radio and Television Organizations of Africa. 1980: 27. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. "Annual report - The West African Examinations Council". West African Examinations Council. 1978: 1. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. "Ghana Gazette, Issues 8-59". National government publication. 1976: 127. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. "In memoriam: Fifi Hesse". www.ghanaweb.com. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  17. "Ghana News, Volumes 12". Washington, D.C. : Embassy of Ghana. 1983: 119. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. "West Africa, Issues 3540-3565". West Africa Publishing Company Limited. 1985: 1730. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. Cain, Piers; Thurston, Anne (1998). Personnel Records: A Strategic Resource for Public Sector Management : (with Case Studies from Uganda, Ghana and Zimbabwe). p. 112. ISBN 9780850925524.
  20. "The Diplomatic Breakfast – Meeting with Her Excellency Virginia Hesse, Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana in Prague : Czech – Ghanaian Chamber of Commerce (CGCC)". www.ghanatrade.cz. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  21. "Staff – Ghana Embassy Prague". www.ghanaembassy.cz. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  22. R.I.P. Ghana (16 October 2020). "The late Lebrecht Wilhelm Fiifi Hesse (1934 - 2000)". R.I.P Ghana. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
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