The chieftaincy institution in Ghana is a system that structures and regulates the activity of local chieftains in the Ghanaian society and state.
This institution served as the governing structure of various societies in Ghana prior to European colonisation.
In pre-colonial times, chieftaincy leadership was the axis of executive, legislative and judicial powers.
Several governments - the colonial, civilian, or military - have attempted, in one way or another, to influence the role of chiefs in political affairs.
[3] The chiefs are divided by the act of leadership into 5 categories (as for authority):[4] This popular hierarchy system informally divides chiefs between royalty and nobility, using the European comparative scale of equivalence:[5] They are the monarchs proper, who prevailed before colonisation with sovereignty or complete autonomy (depending on the primacy).