The High Commissioner

His Excellency Samuel Yao KUMAH

Samuel Yao Kumah arrived in Canberra in July, 2023 to assume his role as High Commissioner of the Republic of Ghana to the Commonwealth of Australia, with concurrent accreditation to New Zealand and the South Pacific Region.

Ambassador Samuel Kumah started his diplomatic career in Ghana’s Foreign Ministry in January, 1997 and rose through the ranks to become a Director.  He has over 27 years of experience as a career Foreign Service Officer.

Prior to assuming his current position as High Commissioner, he was commissioned as Ambassador-in-situ in September, 2020.  He had a brief stint as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ghana in Berlin and was later recalled and appointed as Director of State Protocol at the Office of the President of Ghana.  In this position, which covered the period January 2021 to July, 2023, he assumed overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the State Protocol Department, including planning, co-ordination and the effective execution of official state programmes, including both internal and external commitments of the President of the Republic.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Kumah held senior-level positions including Chief of Protocol and Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation between 2018 and 2020.  He also served at various Bureaux of the Ministry, including the Economic Trade and Investment Bureau, Administration, Middle East and Asia as well as Europe Bureau.  Additionally, he spent two years on secondment to the State Protocol Department from 2011 to 2013 as Deputy Director of State Protocol.

In the course of his diplomatic career, Ambassador Kumah participated in several high-level bilateral meetings and multilateral conferences at the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.

He also served in various capacities at a number of Ghana’s Diplomatic Missions as follows:  Minister and later Acting High Commissioner,  High Commission of Ghana, Canberra, Australia (2013 – 2017), Minister-Counsellor/Head of Chancery, Embassy of Ghana, Tokyo, Japan ( 2006 – 2010), Counsellor, Consulate General of Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria (2002 – 2004), First Secretary/Head of Chancery, High Commission of Ghana, Abuja, Nigeria (2000 – 2002).

Ambassador Kumah was born in Jasikan, Ghana and holds a Masters Degree in International Affairs from the University of Ghana, with Post Graduate qualifications from the South Africa Diplomatic Academy and the Japanese Language Institute in Osaka. 

He is fluent in English and has French and Japanese language proficiency.

He is married and a father of two.