rcraggs, Author at Commonwealth Oral History Project

Session 3: Sustainable Development

by rcraggs | May 11, 2014 | Climate Change, Commonwealth Secretariat, Decolonisation, Development, Environment, Small States, Technical Assistance

This is session 3 of the Witness Seminar, The heartbeat of a modern Commonwealth? The Commonwealth Secretariat 1965-2013 which took place at Marlborough House, London, on 24th June, 2013. Download full Witness Seminar Transcript Session participants: (click here for...

Session 5: The Commonwealth and Communication

by rcraggs | May 11, 2014 | Apartheid, Commonwealth Secretariat, Media, South Africa, Uncategorized

This is session 5 of the Witness Seminar, The heartbeat of a modern Commonwealth? The Commonwealth Secretariat 1965-2013 which took place at Marlborough House, London, on 24th June, 2013. Download full Witness Seminar Transcript Session participants: (click here for...

Session 4: Education and Health

by rcraggs | May 11, 2014 | Commonwealth Secretariat, Education, Health, Uncategorized

This is session 4 of the Witness Seminar, The heartbeat of a modern Commonwealth? The Commonwealth Secretariat 1965-2013 which took place at Marlborough House, London, on 24th June, 2013. Download full Witness Seminar Transcript Session participants: (click here for...

Session 2: Political affairs, Legal affairs, Democracy and Human Rights

by rcraggs | May 10, 2014 | Civil Society, Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Democracy, Diplomacy, Good Governance, Human Rights, Law, Media, Uncategorized

This is session 2 of the Witness Seminar, The heartbeat of a modern Commonwealth? The Commonwealth Secretariat 1965-2013 which took place at Marlborough House, London, on 24th June, 2013. Download full Witness Seminar Transcript Session participants: (click here for...

Session 1 – The Office of the Secretary General

by rcraggs | May 10, 2014 | Uncategorized

This is session 1 of the Witness Seminar, The heartbeat of a modern Commonwealth? The Commonwealth Secretariat 1965-2013 which took place at Marlborough House, London, on 24th June, 2013. Download full Witness Seminar Transcript Session participants: (click here for...

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Definitioner

Terry Dormer

Terence R Dormer is a photographer and international civil servant who spent over thirty years working for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. Arriving at Marlborough House in 1971, Dormer served the organisation in a variety of positions, including in the Secretary General’s Private Office and as NGO Desk Officer. He retired in 2003.

Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) was Ghanaian political figure who served as his country’s first Prime Minister (1957-60), becoming President of Ghana (1960-66) following a constitutional change that made the country a Republic. Nkrumah had previously served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (1952-57) and was a leading figure in the struggle against British rule. Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organisation of African Unity, which he chaired from 1965 to 1966.

Joy Tilsley

Joy Tilsley was a Canadian civil servant who acted as Arnold Smith’s personal secretary during the early years of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Tilsley, on secondment from the Canadian Foreign Service, was Smith’s first appointment to the new organisation. Tilsley was subsequently a central figure in the Canadian branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society (1993-2014).

Richard Bourne

Richard Bourne (b.1940) is a British journalist, writer and human rights advocate who has acted as Deputy Director of the Commonwealth Institute (1983-89), Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (1990-92) and Head of the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (1999-2005). He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Secretary of the Ramphal Institute, and was a correspondent for The Guardian and deputy editor of the London Evening Standard.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Kamla Persad-Bissessar (b.1952) is a politician in Trinidad and Tobago who was elected Prime Minister of her country in 2010. Persad-Bissessar is the political leader of the United National Congress, and in 2001 served as Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago.

Kamla Persad (Kamla Persad-Bissessar)

Commonwealth Business Council

The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) was formed at the 1997 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, with an aim to promote global trade and investment across the Commonwealth of Nations. Acting as a bridge between governments and the private sector, the CBC promoted the liberalisation of services and regional economic integration. Dissolving in 2014, its final Director General was Peter Callaghan.

Peter Williams

Dr Peter Williams joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1984, serving first as Director of Education and then as Director of the Human Resource Development Division. He later served as Joint Deputy Executive Chair of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth and as Secretary of the Commonwealth Consortium for Education.

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.

David Steel

Sir David Steel (b.1938), Baron Steel of Aikwood, is a British political figure with a long career in Scottish politics. From 1976 to 1988, he was leader of the Liberal Party in the UK. From 1966 to 1970, he was President of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the UK and later, in 1994, was an observer at South Africa’s first democratic elections. In 1999, he was Chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Mission to South Africa’s second elections.

Political Affairs Division

The Political Affairs Division (PAD) is the section of the Commonwealth Secretariat that coordinates activities between the Commonwealth, its member country governments and partner international organisations. It focuses its work on the prevention or resolution of political conflict at the invitation of a member country, and also supports the development of democratic processes and institutions.

Marlborough House

Marlborough House is a 17^th century mansion in the City of Westminster, central London, which has served as the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat since 1953.

Bill Heseltine (William Heseltine)

Sir William Heseltine, b.1930 in Australia, was Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1986 to 1990.

Stephen Chan

Stephen Chan is Professor of International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He has an extensive background as an international civil servant, and has been involved in several diplomatic initiatives in Africa, especially in the arena of electoral observation.

Stuart Mole

Stuart Mole is a British political figure who joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1984 as Special Assistant to the Secretary-General. He was Director of the Secretary-General’s Office from 1990 to 2000, and Director-General of the Royal Commonwealth Society from 2000 to 2009.

New International Economic Order

The New International Economic Order (NIEO) was a proposal set forth by a group of developing countries in 1974 to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. It focused on issues of trade, development assistance, tariff reductions in developed countries and was intended to revise the dominant ‘Bretton-Woods’ economic order that was perceived to disproportionately benefit the United States.

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.

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.

Springboks tour of New Zealand

The 1981 South African Rugby Union tour to New Zealand in 1981 was controversial as it broke the Gleneagles Agreement adopted at the 1977 CHOGM which had agreed a sports boycott on South African sportsmen and sporting teams. Though party to the agreement, the New Zealand government allowed the tour to go ahead.

Sir William Dale

Sir William Leonard Dale (1906-2000). Lawyer and civil servant. In 1961 he became legal adviser to the Commonwealth Relations Office, and also worked at the Africa Office dealing with the break-up of the Central African Federation. In 1983 he published The Modern Commonwealth.

SDP/ Liberal Alliance

The SDP/Liberal Alliance was an electoral alliance in British politics formed by the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party in 1981, but which failed to make a political breakthrough in the 1983 elections. The alliance soured after David Owen assumed leadership of the SDP in 1983.

Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson (b. 1946). Former Conservative Party MP, he was Assistant Director in the Office of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, 1977-83 and has served as a Commonwealth election observer.

Jagdeo (Bharrat Jagdeo)

Bharrat Jagdeo (b. 1964). Guyanese politician and member of the PPP. He was President of Guyana, 1999-2011. In December 2011 his term of office came to an end, and he was succeeded by Donald Ramotar.

The Group of Eight (G8) was a forum for the governments of the eight leading industrialised countries of the world. It began in 1975 as the G6, and the following year became the G7 with the addition of Canada. From 1998 to 2014 it became the G8, reverting to being the G7 with the suspension of Russia as of March 2014.

Clare Short

Clare Short (b. 1946). British politician and member of the Labour Party. She was Secretary of State for International Development, 1997-2003.

Chatham House Rules

A rule that allows for comments from a meeting to be freely quoted, but not ascribed to an individual.

Alister McIntosh

Sir Alister Donald Miles McIntosh (1906-78). New Zealand diplomat and New Zealand’s first Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Max Gaylard

Maxwell Gaylard (b. 1946). Australian diplomat. He was Director of Political/International Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in the 1990s.

Tamil Tigers (LTTE)

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was a separatist militant organisation based in northern Sri Lanka. It operated from 1976 to 2009.

Brandt Commission (Brandt Report)

The Brandt Report (1980) was the outcome of an independent commission chaired by the former German Chancellor Willy Brandt. It reported on issues of international development, suggesting that a gulf in living standards existed between a global north and south.

Inoke Faletau

‘Inoke Faletau (1937-2005) was a Tongan diplomat. He worked at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, 1983-85 after which he became Director of the Commonwealth Foundation. He left the Commonwealth Foundation in 1993 to become Deputy Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office in Tonga.

World Bank

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

Whitehall

London street. Site of many government buildings, the term ‘Whitehall’ is often used to refer to the bureaucracy of the British government.

United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.

UDI

Unilateral Declaration of Independence. Rhodesia’s 1965 declaration of independence without British agreement, intended to preserve white minority rule.

soft power

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

Arnold Smith

Arnold Smith (1915 –1994). Canadian diplomat, the first Commonwealth Secretary-General (1965–1975).

Kamalesh Sharma

Kamalesh Sharma (b. 1941). Indian diplomat, Commonwealth Secretary-General from 2008-2016.

Patsy Robertson

Patsy Robertson. Jamaican journalist and diplomat. Successively Commonwealth Press Officer, Director of Information, and official Commonwealth spokesperson (1983-1994).

Shridath Ramphal

Shridath Surendranath 'Sonny' Ramphal (b. 1928). Guyanese politician, second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-1990).

Sonny Ramphal (Shridath Ramphal)

Shridath Surendranath 'Sonny' Ramphal (b. 1928). Guyanese politician, second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-1990).

Old Commonwealth

An informal term describing the countries of the pre-1945 Commonwealth: Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

OECD

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. An global economic organisation of 34 countries to promote economic progress and international trade, founded in 1961.

Julius Nyerere

Julius Nyerere (1922-1999). Tanzanian politician and President (1961-1985).

Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf – (1943-) Pakistani soldier and politician. He was the military ruler of Pakistan (1999-2001) and served as President (2001-2008).

Musharraf (Pervez Musharraf)

Pervez Musharraf – (1943-) Pakistani soldier and politician. He was the military ruler of Pakistan (1999-2001) and served as President (2001-2008).

Robert Muldoon

Sir Robert Muldoon (1921-1992). New Zealand politician and member of the National party. He was Prime Minister, 1975-84.

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).

Peter Marshall

Peter Marshall (b. 1946). British diplomat, Deputy Secretary General (Economic & Social) Commonwealth Secretariat from 1983 to 1989.

Moni Malhoutra (Manmohan Malhoutra)

Manmohan Malhoutra (b. 1937). Indian diplomat, served in the Secretariat of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966 to 1973 then joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, in 1974, to run the International Affairs Division.

David Lange

David Lange (1942-2005). New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. He was Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1984-89.

Lancaster House

A London mansion house, frequently used as the venue for decolonisation negotiations between the 1940s and 1970s. It was the site of the Lancaster House Agreement in December 1979, for instance, which brought an end to white rule in Rhodesia.

Chris Laidlaw

Chris Laidlaw (b.1943). New Zealand politician and diplomat. Assistant to Sonny Ramphal.

IMF

International Monetary Fund. Created in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF's original aim was to stabilise exchange rates and aid national reconstruction after the end of the Second World War.

John Howard

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

Ted Heath (Edward Heath)

Edward Heath (1916 –2005). British politician and Prime Minister (1970-1974).

Gleneagles Agreement

The Gleneagles Agreement was approved by Commonwealth leaders in Gleneagles, Scotland in 1977, supporting an international campaign against apartheid. Click here to read the Agreement in full.

Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi (1917-1984). Indian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1984.

G20

Inaugurated in 1999, the Group of Twenty brings together finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies.

Downing Street

London thoroughfare. Number ten is the official residence of the British Prime Minister.

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.

Commonwealth Foundation

The Commonwealth Foundation is a Commonwealth organisation founded in 1965 to promote the growth of professional organisations and exchange of skills, and now pursuing a broader developmental agenda.

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.

Commonwealth Day

The second Monday in March, marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey and a message delivered by Elizabeth II.

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.

Prince of Wales (Prince Charles)

Prince Charles (b. 1948). Heir to the throne of the UK and the other territories for which the British monarch is also Head of State.

Lord Carrington (Peter Carrington)

Peter Carrington, 6th Baron Carrington (b. 1919). British politician and member of the Conservative party. He was Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1979-82) and 6th Secretary General of NATO (1984-88). In 1979 he chaired the Lancaster House conference.

Tony Blair

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

BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcasting organisation semi-autonomous from the British government, originally founded in 1922.

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).

Margaret Thatcher

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

Mrs Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher)

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

Session 3: Sustainable Development

Session 5: The Commonwealth and Communication

Session 4: Education and Health

Session 2: Political affairs, Legal affairs, Democracy and Human Rights

Session 1 – The Office of the Secretary General

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