Singapore Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Sir Malcolm Rifkind

by rcraggs | Oct 26, 2013 | Apartheid, Australia, Canada, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Secretariat, Democracy, Diplomacy, Eminent Persons Group, European Economic Community, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Queen, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, United Nations, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript: Part One (8 January 2013); Part Two (12 March 2013). Biography: Rifkind, Rt. Hon. Sir Malcolm. 1946- . KCMG 1997. PC 1986. Lectured at University of Rhodesia, 1967–68. Visiting Professor, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities,...

Interview with Lord Hurd of Westwell

by rcraggs | Oct 26, 2013 | Apartheid, Australia, Cameroon, Canada, CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Democracy, Diplomacy, European Economic Community, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, India, Mozambique, New Zealand, Nigeria, Queen, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Hurd, Douglas. (1930-present) House of Commons, Member of Parliament for Mid Oxon, 1974-1983. Member of Parliament for Witney, 1983-1997. Opposition Spokesman for Europe, 1976-1979. Foreign and Commonwealth office, Minister of...

Interview with Sir Ronald Sanders

by rcraggs | Oct 4, 2013 | Apartheid, Australia, Barbados, Canada, CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Elections, Eminent Persons Group, European Economic Community, Fiji, Good Governance, Grenada, Human Rights, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Maldives, Mozambique, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Queen, Race, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), Singapore, Small States, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, United Nations, USA, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcripts: Part One (12th November 2012); Part Two (16th October 2013). Biography: Sanders, Sir Ronald Michael KCMG, KCN (1948 – ) Public Affairs Adviser to Prime Minister of Guyana, 1973-76; Representative to UNO, New York ( – 1983)...

Interview with Sir Roger Carrick

by rcraggs | Sep 27, 2013 | Australia, Canada, CHOGM, Cold War, Decolonisation, Diplomacy, Fiji, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Good Governance, Human Rights, Malaysia, Mozambique, NATO, New Zealand, Nigeria, Nuclear, Pakistan, Queen, Race, Singapore, South Africa, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, United Nations, USA, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript Biography: Carrick, Roger John. 1937- . KCMG 1995; CMG 1983; LVO 1972. Entry to FO, 1956 . Served in Royal Navy, 1956-58. School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, 1961. Sofia, 1962. FO desk officer, Jordan; then...

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Definitioner

Sir Roger Carrick

Sir Roger Carrick, b.1937, is a British diplomat and author. Joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1958, he served in Sofia, Paris and Singapore, and was Consul-General at Chicago (1985-88), Assistant Under-Secretary (Economic) at the FCO (1988-90), Ambassador to Indonesia (1990-94) and High Commissioner to Australia (1994-97).

Zimbabwe Conference

Negotiations held at Lancaster House in 1979 for the independence of Zimbabwe, then known as Rhodesia.

White Australia

A term use to describe Australian immigration policies that discriminated against non-whites, instituted in 1901 and replaced in the post–war years from 1949 to 1973.

Versailles Peace Conference

The peace conference held in Paris in 1919 to establish terms for the conclusion of World War I. Concluded with the Treaty of Versailles.

United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.

South Pacific Forum

The South Pacific Forum was an international organisation formed in 1971 to facilitate cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. In 1999, it was renamed the Pacific Islands Forum.

President Soeharto

Soeharto – (1921-2008). President of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998.

Singapore Declaration

The Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles was adopted at the 1971 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Singapore. Click here to read the Declaration in full.

Malcolm Rifkind

Sir Malcolm Rifkind (b.1946) is a British politician who served various ministerial roles in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Defence (1992-95) and Foreign Secretary (1995-97). From 2010 to 2015, Rifkind was Chair of the Parliament Intelligence and Security Committee.

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.

Lois O’Donoghue

Lowitja O’Donoghue (b. 1932) Aboriginal Australian public servant and campaigner.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. A military alliance formed in 1949, originally to defend Western Europe from the Soviet Union.

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).

Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx (1890-1977). American comedian.

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 Major

John Major (b.1943). British politician, served, amongst other ministerial positions, as Foreign Secretary (1989) and Prime Minister (1990-1997).

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.

King Charles Street

King Charles Street is a central London thoroughfare, home of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Paul Keating

Paul Keating (b. 1944). Prime Minister of Australia (1991-1996).

JIC

Joint Intelligence Committee. A committee that advises the British Cabinet on intelligence issues and leads the intelligence services.

Billy Hughes

Billy Hughes (1962-1952) Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923.

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).

Head of Chancery

A diplomatic post.

French nuclear testing at Mururoa

French testing of nuclear weapons at Mururoa atoll in the southern Pacific between 1966 and 1996 sparked international protest.

Freedom of Information Act

A British law, passed in 2000, that established the right of public access to information held by the state, but also established a number of exemptions.

Foreign Office. The department of the British government with responsibility for relations with foreign countries, formed in 1782. Since 1968, it has been formally known as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, although it is still often informally referred to as the Foreign Office.

Federation of Malaysia and Singapore

A federal state that briefly united Malaysia and Singapore form 1963 to 1965.

FCO

Foreign and Commonwealth Office. British government department with responsibility for relations with other countries. Created in 1968 from the merger of the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office. Often called 'the Foreign Office'.

Falklands War

The 1982 war between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the disputed sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, also known as the Malvinas, situated in the South Atlantic.

Gareth Evans

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

European Union. International organisation of European states. Known as the European Economic Community before 1993.

EEC

European Economic Community. An international organisation of European states, founded in 1957. Renamed the European Union in 1993.

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.

Downing Street

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

Alexander Downer

Alexander Downer (b. 1951). Australian politician, served as Foreign Minister from 1996 to 2007.

Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881). British Prime Minister (1868, 1874-1880).

CRO

Commonwealth Relations Office. The British government department responsible for relations with the Commonwealth from 1947 to 1966.

Commonwealth of Nations

The official name of the Commonwealth since 1949, before which it was known as the British Commonwealth of Nations.

CMAG

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

Commonwealth Day

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

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.

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency. A major American intelligence gathering organisation, founded in 1947.

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 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.

Causeway railway

A railway linking Singapore and Malaysia, originally built in 1923.

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.

Lord Carrington (Peter Carrington)

British Commonwealth

The term used to describe the Commonwealth until 1949, reflecting British pre-eminence within it.

BOAC

British Overseas Airways Corporation. British airline, merged with BEA in 1974.

Tony Blair

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

BEA

British European Airways. British airline, merged with BOAC in 1974.

Ascension Island

A British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, used by the British military as a staging post during the 1982 Falklands War.

Apartheid

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

ANZUK Force

A joint Australian-New Zealand-United Kingdom military force formed to defend the Pacific region (1971-1974).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

An Australian government organisation intended to represent the interests of Aborigines and Torres Strait islanders. Established in 1990 and abolished in 2005.

Interview with Sir Malcolm Rifkind

Interview with Lord Hurd of Westwell

Interview with Sir Ronald Sanders

Interview with Sir Roger Carrick

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