rcraggs, Author at Commonwealth Oral History Project

P.P. Kanthan (Dev): CFTC Reflections

by rcraggs | Jun 17, 2014 | Commonwealth Secretariat, Development, Small States, Supporting Documents, Technical Assistance

Download document PDF My recollection is that the origin of CFTC is to be traced to the CHOGM of 1971 held in Singapore and the resultant ‘Agreed Memorandum’ that defined its role and status. It started functioning in 1972, initially with the General Technical...

Dr Bishnodat (Vishnu) Persaud Discussion Paper

by rcraggs | Jun 17, 2014 | CHOGM, Climate Change, Commonwealth Secretariat, Development, Environment, Grenada, Reflections, Small States, Supporting Documents

Download Discussion Paper. [Originally produced for the 24 June 2013 Witness Seminar hosted at Marlborough House, London: ‘The Heartbeat of a Modern Commonwealth? The Commonwealth Secretariat 1965-2013] Biography: Persaud, Dr Bishnodat. 1933- . Born in Guyana....

Lessons from managing past CHOGMs: Sir Shridath Ramphal

by rcraggs | Jun 14, 2014 | Uncategorized

Commonwealth Questions and Answers

by rcraggs | Jun 10, 2014 | Blog

By Dr. Sue Onslow, Senior Research Fellow, ICwS This oral history project has reminded me again and again of the importance of a good relationship between the interviewer and transcriber. This aspect of research output – especially on a Research Facilitation project...

Interview with Carolyn McMaster

by rcraggs | Jun 10, 2014 | Apartheid, Australia, Botswana, Canada, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Good Governance, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Technical Assistance, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: McMaster, Carolyn. University of Toronto (Honours BA in Political Science and Economics) and the London School of Economics (M.Phil in International Relations). Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Policy...

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Definitioner

Nick Hare

Ewan ‘Nick’ Hare is a Canadian specialist in international development who served the Commonwealth Secretariat as Deputy Secretary General for Development Cooperation from 1993 to 2000. In this role, Hare had specific responsibility for the Commonwealth fund for Technical Cooperation. Hare was previously a senior official in the Canadian International Development Agency and in 1984 was appointed Canadian Ambassador to Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. He later served as High Commissioner to Nigeria.

Transparency International

Transparency International is a non-government organisation based in Berlin, Germany, which monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. It was founded in 1993 and produces an extensive annual ‘Global Corruption Barometer’ and ‘Corruption Perceptions Index’.

Canadian International Development Agency

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was the primary organisation administering Canada’s foreign aid programmes in developing countries. It was established in 1968 under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and reported to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister for International Cooperation. In 2013, CIDA was dissolved by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and its functions incorporated into the Department of Foreign Affairs.

CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency)

Royal Commonwealth Society

The Royal Commonwealth Society is an international educational charity based in London, functioning additionally as a private members’ club. Its main aim is to facilitate the exchange of ideas on public affairs in an international frame, and it supports and promotes the modern Commonwealth of Nations. It was founded in 1868 as the Colonial Society.

USAID

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the American government agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid, with a specific focus on the eradication of poverty. USAID was established by John F Kennedy in 1971 and its work is funded by Congress.

International Development Research Centre

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Canadian government organisation that promotes research into developing countries with the aim of supporting growth in scientific and technical knowledge, as well as economic and social advancement. The IDRC was established by the Canadian Parliament in 1970, and reports to the government through the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

IDRC (International Development Research Centre)

Lord Elgin

James Bruce (1811-1863), the Earl of Elgin, was a British colonial administrator and diplomat who served as Governor of Jamaica (1842-46), Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847-1854) and High Commissioner to China (1857-60). He died in 1863, acting as Viceroy of India, a position he had taken up a year earlier.

Carolyn McMaster

Carolyn McMaster is a Canadian diplomat and development expert who spent much of her career supporting Canadian government projects in sub-Saharan Africa. From 1990 to 2000, she was Deputy Head of the Southern African Task Force, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. She was later head of the Commonwealth Section (2000-203) and then Deputy High Commissioner to New Zealand (2003-07).

Amitav Banerji

Amitav Banerji is a career diplomat from India who became Director of the Political Affairs Division (PAD), Commonwealth Secretariat, in 2009. Previous to this post he had served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General, 2000-09, as well as Special Adviser in PAD from 1990 to 2000.

International Development Agency

The International Development Association (IDA) was established in 1960 as a member of the World Bank Group, headquartered in Washington, DC. As an international financial institution, it offers loans and grants to developing countries in line with its mission to reduce world poverty and provide affordable development financing.

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is an international sporting event that takes place every four years and brings together athletes from across the Commonwealth of Nations. It began in 1930 as the British Empire Games, and is overseen today by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Moses Anafu

Moses Anafu is a Ghanian diplomat who joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1979 as Research Officer in the International Affairs Division. He was appointed Chief Research Officer in 1987 and served as Assistant Director, Political Affairs Department from 1990 to 2000. He was the Secretary General's Special Envoy to South Africa from 1991 to 1994. Anafu has also advised the UNDP on questions of governance in Africa.

Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association

Founded in 1970, the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association acts as a network for judicial officers in the Commonwealth. The work of its Secretary General, Executive Committee and General Assembly is directed to promoting the independence of the judiciary and advancing education in law, justice and the prevention of crime.

Caprivi Strip

A part of Namibia, bordered to the south by Botswana, and to the north by Angola and Zambia.

Troika

Refers to incumbent, previous, and next Chairpersons-in-Office of the Commonwealth, who, after the 2002 CHOGM, met to try to resolve the dispute over Zimbabwe’s membership of the Commonwealth.

Joe Clark

Joe Clark (b. 1939). Canadian journalist, politician and statesman. As a member of the Progressive Conservative party, he was Prime Minister of Canada, June 1979-March 1980 and Secretary of State for External Affairs 1984-91.

Canadian International Development Agency

Canadian International Development Agency. Established in 1968, it was responsible for administering foreign aid to developing countries. In 2013 it was merged with the Department of Foreign Affairs, becoming Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency)

UNITA

UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) is an Angolan political party founded in 1966. It thought against the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) in the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002), receiving military aid from the United States and South Africa.

RENAMO

RENAMO (Mozambican National Resistance) is a Mozambican political party, founded in 1975 as an anti-Communist organisation. It fought against the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) in the Mozambican Civil War (1976-1992) and received military support from South Africa.

Leon Wessels

Leon Wessels (b.1946). South African politician and member of the National Party during the Apartheid era.

World Bank

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. An international institution, founded in 1944, that funds development projects

United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.

soft power

A concept used to explain an emphasis on a attracting and co-opting power as opposed to coercive or forceful power.

Hugh Segal

Hugh Segal (b. 1950). Canadian politician and a member of the 2010 Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group.

SACP

South African Communist party, founded in 1921.

Robin Renwick

Lord Renwick of Clifton (b. 1937). British diplomat. Head of Chancery, British Embassy, Washington, 1981-84; Assistant Under-Secretary of State, FCO, 1984-87; British Ambassador to South Africa, 1987-91, and to the United States, 1991-95. Author of 'Unconventional Diplomacy in Southern Africa' (Palgrave, 1997).

Cyril Ramaphosa

Cyril Ramaphosa (b. 1952). South African politician and trade union leader.

TanZam

A railway built by China linking Zambia and Tanzania. Agreed in 1967, and constructed from 197- to 1975.

ODA

Overseas Development Administration. A department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office with responsibility for overseas aid from 1970 to 1974 and from 1979 to 1997.

General Obasanjo (Olusegun Obasanjo)

Olusegun Obasanjo (b. 1937). Nigerian Head of Federal Military Government (1976-1979) and President (1999-2007). He was Co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa (1985-1986).

Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney (b. 1939). Canadian politician, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1983-93) and Prime Minister of Canada (1984-93).

Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe (b.1924). Zimbabwean resistance leader and politician. Served as Prime Minister (1980-1987) and President (1987-) of Zimbabwe.

Roelf Meyer

Roelf Meyer (b. 1947). South African politician. Served as a minister in the governments of F.W. De Klerk and Nelson Mandela (1991-1996).

Don McKinnon

Sir Donald McKinnon (b. 1939) is a New Zealand politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister for the National Party (1990-96), Foreign Minister (1990-99) and Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations (2000-08).

Thabo Mbeki

Thabo Mbeki (b.1942). South African politician. He has served as an African National Congress negotiator in the 1980s and 1990s, and as South African Deputy President (1994-1999) and President (1999-2008).

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela (b. 1918). South African anti-apartheid campaigner and politician, served as South Africa’s first post-apartheid President (1994-1999).

John Howard

John Howard (b.1939). Prime Minister of Australia (1996-2007).

Harare Declaration

The Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 1991 set out the Commonwealth's principles and values, including membership criteria. Click here to read the Declaration in full.

Gareth Evans

Gareth Evans (b. 1944). Australian politician, Foreign Minister from 1988 to 1966.

EPG

Eminent Persons Group. A group of well-known individuals chosen by the Commonwealth to research a specific issue. The 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting appointed an EPG to report on apartheid in South Africa, published in 1986 as Mission to South Africa. A second EPG was appointed in 2009 and tasked to produce a report on Commonwealth reform for 2011.

John Diefenbaker

John Diefenbaker (1895-1979). Canadian Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963.

Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal inter-governmental body of the Commonwealth, responsible for promoting cooperation between members. Founded in 1965.

CMAG

Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. Established by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1995, the CMAG upholds the terms of the Harare Declaration.

CFTC (Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation)

The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) is an organisation administered by the Commonwealth Secretariat that delivers technical assistance to Commonwealth member countries. A mutual and voluntary fund, it was established in 1971.

Cold War

A period of ideological tension from around 1945 to 1991 between capitalist nations led by the USA and communist nations led by the USSR.

CODESA

The Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) is the name for a series of multi-party negotiations on the ending of apartheid in South Africa, hosted in 1991 and 1992. CODESA I took place in December 1991, nearly two years after the unbanning of political parties and the release of Nelson Mandela. CODESA II began in May 1992, though negotiations collapsed following the Boipatong massacre in June.

CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Every two years Commonwealth heads of government meet to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, with the aim of promoting common initiatives.

Buthelezi

Mangosuthu Buthelezi (b. 1928). South African politician, founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975, and served as South African Minister of Home Affairs from 1994 to 2004.

Tony Blair

Tony Blair (b. 1953). British politician, served as Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007.

Berlin Wall

The breaching of the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Berlin in November 1989 was a major milestone in the ending of the Cold War.

Bainimarama (Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama)

Josaia Voreqe 'Frank' Bainimarama (b. 1954). Fijian naval officer and politician, Prime Minister of Fiji since 2007.

Apartheid

A system of legally enforced racial segregation implemented and upheld by the National Party in South Africa from 1948 – 1994

Emeka Anyaoku

Emeka Anyaoku (b. 1933). Nigerian diplomat. Served as Head of the Commonwealth International Affairs Division (1973-1977), Assistant Secretary General (1977-1979); Deputy Secretary General (1979-1991); Secretary General (1991-2001).

ANC

African National Congress. A South African political party, founded in 1912, that opposed apartheid and has been South Africa’s governing party since 1994.

Mrs Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher)

Margaret Thatcher (1926-2013). British politician and Prime Minister (1979-1990).

P.P. Kanthan (Dev): CFTC Reflections

Dr Bishnodat (Vishnu) Persaud Discussion Paper

Lessons from managing past CHOGMs: Sir Shridath Ramphal

Commonwealth Questions and Answers

Interview with Carolyn McMaster

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