Uncategorized Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Aziz Pahad

by rcraggs | Nov 2, 2014 | Apartheid, China, CHOGM, Civil Society, Cold War, Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Elections, Good Governance, India, Mozambique, Nigeria, Nuclear, Race, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), Singapore, South Africa, Sport, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, United Nations, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript: Part One (18th April 2013); Part Two (5th August 2015). Biography: Pahad, Aziz. 1940- . African National Congress in London, 1966-1985; National executive Committee of the ANC, 1985- ; Returned to South Africa from exile, 1990; Deputy...

Project researchers discuss the Commonwealth Games

by rcraggs | Jul 24, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized

With the Commonwealth Games just underway, it seems that briefly, people are interested in talking about the Commonwealth. Researchers on this project have been busy over the last couple of weeks writing and recording their thoughts about what the Games can tell us...

Glasgow 2014 and the politics of the Commonwealth Games

by rcraggs | Jul 21, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized

by Ruth Craggs, Lecturer in Human Geography, King’s College London The 20th Commonwealth Games will open in Glasgow on Wednesday. Riding a wave of interest in athletics following the London 2012 Olympics, this summer’s events look set to be a sell out. Yet,...

Interview with Matthew Neuhaus

by rcraggs | Jul 9, 2014 | Apartheid, Australia, Bangladesh, CHOGM, Cold War, Commonwealth Institute, Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Elections, European Economic Community, Fiji, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Good Governance, Maldives, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Queen, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, United Nations, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript: Part One (5 June 2013); Part Two (8 August 2013); Part Three (11 March 2014). Biography: Neuhaus, Matthew. Australian Diplomat. Postings to Papua New Guinea; Canberra; Counsellor to the Australian Mission in the United Nations, New York;...

Interview with Sir Peter Marshall

by rcraggs | Jul 3, 2014 | CHOGM, Cold War, Commonwealth Secretariat, Development, Diplomacy, European Economic Community, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, South Africa, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, USA

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Marshall, Sir Peter. Joined the UK Diplomatic Service in 1949, rising to become Economic Under-Secretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Deputy, Economic and Social Affairs, to Britain’s Permanent...

Lessons from managing past CHOGMs: Sir Shridath Ramphal

by rcraggs | Jun 14, 2014 | Uncategorized

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Definitioner

Barbara Ward: Barbara Mary Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, (1914-1981) was a British economist and writer who spent her career as an adviser to policy makers in the UK, the United States and within the United Nations. An early advocate of ‘sustainable development’, Ward founded the International Institute for Environment and Development, acting as its President (1973-80) and then Chairman.
Charles Gunawardena: Charles Gunawardena was a Sri Lankan journalist and diplomat who served the Commonwealth Secretariat as Director of Information in the 1980s. He had previously handled information and press relations for Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry and as a diplomat in London and New Delhi.
Denis Greenhill: Denis Arthur Greenhill, Baron Greenhill of Harrow, (1913-2000) was a British diplomat and politician who served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Service from 1969 to 1973. Greenhill had held diplomatic appointments in the United States and was Britain’s special envoy to Rhodesia in 1972 and 1976.
Robert Jackson: Robert Victor Jackson (b.1946) was a British political figure who worked as a senior advisor to the Governor of Rhodesia, Lord Soames, during its transition to independence as Zimbabwe. He was later editor of the Round Table Journal (1970-74) and served as MP for Wantage from 1983 to 2005.
Nigel Lawson: Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Plaby, (b.1932) is a British politician and journalist who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1983 to 1989. Lawson was previously Secretary of State for Energy (1981-83) and Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1979-81).
Gerry Helleiner: Professor Gerry Helleiner is a Canadian economist and political advisor associated with the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. From 1991 to 1999, he was Research Director of the Group of 24 caucus at the IMF and World Bank, and has chaired the Boards of the North South Institute in Ottawa and the International Food Policy Institute (IFPRI) in Washington. He has taught in Canada, Nigeria, Tanzania, the United States, and the UK.
Richard Jolly: Sir Richard Jolly (b.1934) is a British development economist who served as Assistant Secretary-General of the UN from 1982 to 2000. During the 1970s, he was Director of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, returning there as an Honorary Professor and Research Associate following his retirement from the UN.
Indrajit Coomaraswamy: Indrajit Coomaraswamy (b.1950) is a Sri Lankan economist who served the Commonwealth Secretariat from 1990 to 2008. He was Director of Economic Affairs and Deputy-Director, Secretary-General’s Office.
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.
Berg Report: The Berg Report is the shorthand name for a 1981 document published by the World Bank called ‘Accelerate Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Plan for Action’. Authored by the American economist Elliot Berg, the Report endorsed a move away from state-run economies in favour of free market policies in Africa. Berg was highly critical of African government bureaucracies and levels of corruption in the continent, advocating a smaller role for government in the economy and a greater degree of involvement from private industry. The Report followed the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action.
DFID (Department for International Development): The Department for International Development (DFID) is the British government department in charge of administering overseas aid, defining its object as the elimination of world poverty and the promotion of sustainable development.
HIPC: The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative is a debt reduction programme jointly coordinated by the IMF and the World Bank and launched in 1996. The initiative provides debt relief and low-interest loans to 39 countries around the world, 33 of which are located in sub-Saharan Africa.
Group of 77: The Group of 77 is a coalition of United Nations member states, primarily composed of developing nations, who collaborate in UN negotiations to promote their collective economic interests. The Group was founded on 15 June 1964 at the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
G-77 (Group of 77): The Group of 77 is a coalition of United Nations member states, primarily composed of developing nations, who collaborate in UN negotiations to promote their collective economic interests. The Group was founded on 15 June 1964 at the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
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.
Brundtland Commission: The Brundtland Commission – officially the World Commission on Environment and Development – was a UN initiative set up in 1983 to address concerns about the deterioration of the human environment and natural resources. It was chaired by the former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and issued an influential report in 1987 entitled ‘Our Common Future’.
Pindling (Lynden Pindling): Lynden Oscar Pindling (1930-2000) served as Prime Minister of the Bahamas from 1969 to 1992. The first black premier of the Colony of the Bahama Islands from 1967 to 1969, he is regarded as the ‘Father of the Nation’ of the Bahamas, leading it to majority rule and independence in 1973.
Number 10: ‘Number 10’ refers to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister in London and the headquarters of the British Government.
Vishnu Persaud: Dr Bishnodat ‘Vishnu’ Persaud, b.1933 in Guyana, served the Commonwealth Secretariat from 1974 to 1992, acting as Director and Head of the Economic Division from 1981. He lectured at the University of the West Indies from 1992-1996 and later became a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Committee on Development Policy and the UN Expert Group on the Vulnerability of Small States.
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.
NIEO (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.
Michael Jay: Michael Hastings Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme (b. 1946). British diplomat. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 2002-2006.
Gayoom (Maumoon Abdul Gayoom): Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (b. 1937). Maldivian politician. He was President of the Maldives, 1978-2008. In 2011 he formed the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
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.
Vince Cable: Vince Cable (b. 1943). British politician and member of the Liberal Democrat party. He was economic advisor to the Commonwealth Secretary-General in the 1970s and 80s.
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.
UNCTAD: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Established in 1964 to promote to trade, investment and development opportunities in developing countries.
UN: United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.
Pierre Trudeau: Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000). Canadian politician and Prime Minister (1968-1979, 1980-1984).
Soviet Bloc: The Soviet Union and its allies during the period of the Cold War (1945-1991). The Soviet Bloc comprised countries with a communist system of government, and was opposed to the United States and its allies.
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.
Security Council: A body, part of the United Nations organisation, charged with upholding of global peace and security.
Sonny Ramphal (Shridath Ramphal): Shridath Surendranath 'Sonny' Ramphal (b. 1928). Guyanese politician, second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-1990).
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).
Non-aligned movement: An international organisation of countries that are not aligned with any manjor world power, founded in 1961.
Nehru (Jawaharlal Nehru): Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) was an Indian politician and prominent leader in the Indian National Congress-led movement for independence from colonial rule. He served as India's first Prime Minister from 1947 to his death in 1964. Nehru was also a key figure in the Non-Aligned Movement, present at its founding in Belgrade in 1961.
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 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).
Peter Marshall: Peter Marshall (b. 1946). British diplomat, Deputy Secretary General (Economic & Social) Commonwealth Secretariat from 1983 to 1989.
Margaret Thatcher Foundation: An organisation that promotes the ideas of Margaret Thatcher, founded in 1991.
Michael Manley: Michael Manley (1924-1997). Jamaican politician, twice served as Prime Minister (1972-1980, 1989-1992). A member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa.
Kenneth Kaunda: Kenneth Kaunda (b.1924). Zambian politician and President (1964-1991).
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.
International Monetary Fund (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.
ILO: International Labour Organisation. The United Nations agency for issues connected with labour rights, originally founded in 1919
Geoffrey Howe: Geoffrey Howe (b. 1926). Lord Howe of Aberavon. British politician, held various Cabinet positions in Margaret Thatcher’s government including Foreign Secretary (1983-1989).
Bob Hawke: Bob Hawke (b. 1929). Australian Prime Minister (1983-1991).
Gorbachev: Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1931). Final leader of the Soviet Union (1985-1991).
GATT: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. A multilateral agreement managing international trade, agreed in 1947 and succeeded in 1995 by the World Trade Organisation.
Rajiv Gandhi: Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991). Indian politician, served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989.
Indira Gandhi: Indira Gandhi (1917-1984). Indian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1984.
De Gaulle: Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970). French politician and resistance leader, served as President from 1959 to 1969.
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'.
EU: 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.
Commonwealth Secretariat: The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal inter-governmental body of the Commonwealth, responsible for promoting cooperation between members. Founded in 1965.
ComSec (Commonwealth Secretariat): The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal inter-governmental body of the Commonwealth, responsible for promoting cooperation between members. Founded in 1965.
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.
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.
Eugenia Charles: Eugenia Charles (1919-2005). Dominican politician and Prime Minister (1980-1995).
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.
Chequers: A British country house used by the Prime Minister.
Pik Botha: Roelof Botha (b. 1932).South African politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1977-1994).
Robert Armstrong (Lord Armstrong): Sir Robert Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster, (b. 1927) is a British life peer and former civil servant. He served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 1970 to 1975, and Secretary of the Cabinet under Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1987.
Apartheid: A system of legally enforced racial segregation implemented and upheld by the National Party in South Africa from 1948 – 1994
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).

Interview with Aziz Pahad

Project researchers discuss the Commonwealth Games

Glasgow 2014 and the politics of the Commonwealth Games

Interview with Matthew Neuhaus

Interview with Sir Peter Marshall

Lessons from managing past CHOGMs: Sir Shridath Ramphal

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