Appiah had been the assistant coach of the Black Stars since 2008 and replaces Goran Stevanovic as the chief.

Stevanovic was sacked last month in the wake of Ghana's failure to reach the Africa Cup of Nations final in January.

The Black Stars reached the semi-finals of the competition where they lost to eventual winners Zambia, and then went down 2-0 to Mali in the third-place play-off.

"The Ghana Football Association has appointed James Kwesi Appiah as the substantive head coach of the Black Stars," reads a statement from the Ghana FA.

"The meeting was called to discuss the head-hunting exercise undertaken by the GFA to find a permanent Black Stars coach."