Glossary

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NAFTA -  The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a trilateral trade agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States and designed to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to economic cooperation. NAFTA came into force in 1994.
Najib Razak -  Dato Sri Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak (b.1953) is a Malaysian political figure who was elected Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2009. A leading figure in the United Malays National Organisation, Najib has previously served as Deputy Prime Minister (2004-09) and has been a Member of the Malaysian Parliament since 1976.
Nakuru -  A city in the west of Kenya.
Nanda -  Gulzarilal Nanda (1898-1998). Indian politician, briefly Prime Minister in 1964 and 1966.
Narasimha Rao -  Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao (1921-2004). Indian politician and lawyer who served as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996. During this period, he oversaw the economic liberalization of India.
Nassau CHOGM -  The Nassau Accord was passed by the 1985 CHOGM held in Nassau in The Bahamas. The Accord called on the government of South Africa to end apartheid, and launch negotiations with the country's black majority.
Nathan Shamuyarira -  Nathan Shamuyarira (b. 1928). Zimbabwean politician, served in various ministerial positions in the government of Robert Mugabe, including Information Minister (1980-1987).
National Democratic Institute -  The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) was established in 1983 by the United States Congress-coordinated National Endowment for Democracy (NED). It is associated with the US Agency for International Development and the Department of State, directing its activities to ‘provide practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions’.
NATO -  North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. A military alliance formed in 1949, originally to defend Western Europe from the Soviet Union.
Natwar Singh -  Kunwar Natwar Singh, b.1931 in India, had a long career in the Indian Foreign Service and acted as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2004 to 2005.
Nawaz Sharif -  Nawaz Sharif (b. 1949). Pakistani politician and Prime Minister (1990-1993, 1997-1999, 2013-).
Ndabaningi Sithole -  Ndabaningi Sithole (1920-2000) was a Zimbabwean political figure who founded the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in 1963. Sithole spent ten years in prison following ZANU’s founding. As leader of the moderate ZANU-Ndonga party in the late 1970s, Sithole joined a transitional government in 1979 and attended the Lancaster House negotiations. Feeling himself in danger from political enemies in Zimbabwe after independence, Sithole lived in exile from 1983 to 1992.
Ndebele -  A Bantu language spoken by the Matabele people of Zimbabwe.
Necklacing -  ‘Necklacing’ is a method of torture and execution used widely in 1980s South Africa. It involves binding the victim in a rubber tire and setting the tire alight.
Negotiating Concept -  The 'Negotiating Concept' document was a proposal presented by the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group in 1986, suggesting that the South African government release political prisoners and lift bans on anti-apartheid political organisations, and that anti-apartheid groups should suspend the use of violence and enter negotiations with the government.
Neil Kinnock -  Neil Kinnock (b. 1942). British politician, Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.
Neil Van Heerden -  Neil Van Heerden (b.1939). South African diplomat, served as Deputy Director General (1982-1987) and Director General (1987-1992) of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Nelson Mandela -  Nelson Mandela (b. 1918). South African anti-apartheid campaigner and politician, served as South Africa’s first post-apartheid President (1994-1999).
Neo colonialist -  Pertaining to neo colonialism, the concept that forms of political and economic influence akin to imperialism have continued after the formal end of European empires
Neroni Slade -  Tuiloma Neroni Slade, b.1941. Attorney General of Samoa from 1976-1982, Slade later became Assistant Director of the Legal Office for the Commonwealth Secretariat. Entering Samoa’s diplomatic service in 1993, he would serve as Ambassador to Canada and the United States, as well as judge of the International Criminal Court. From 2008-2014, Slade acted as Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.
Neville Linton -  Neville Linton, born in Guyana, is a Political Affairs consultant with an extensive background as an international civil servant, including a period of work with the Political Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat. At the Secretariat, he was involved in the Diplomatic Training Programme and initiatives around the Security Problems of Small States. Linton has also been associated with Transparency International as a Senior Adviser.
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.
- Synonyms: NIEO
New International Information Order -  A phrase coined in relation to debates about remaking the global media to correct imbalances of power and influence during the 1970s and 1980s.
New Jewel Movement -  The New Joint Endeavor for Welfare, Education, and Liberation, commonly known as the New JEWEL Movement (NJM), was a Grenadian political party led by Maurice Bishop and informed by Marxist-Leninist principles. Established in 1973, the NJM existed as an opposition political party before overthrowing the government of Eric Gairy in a 1979 armed revolution. In 1983, an American-led invasion ('Operation Urgent Fury') saw the end of the New Jewel experiment and the restoration of the pre-revolution Grenadian constitution.
New Zealand butter and we had the other issues, we had Caribbean sugar -  British trade relationships with Commonwealth countries that proved problematic when negotiating British entry into the European Economic Community, because of its protectionist agricultural policies.
Ngaire Woods -  Dr Ngaire Woods (b.1963) is a New Zealand-born academic who in 2011 was appointed Founding Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, where she is Professor of Global Economic Governance. Dr Woods has served as an Advisor to the IMF, the UNDP and the Commonwealth Heads of Government. She is also Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala -  Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (b.1954) is a Nigerian economist and political figure who has served as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance (2003-06, and 2011- ) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2006). Okonjo-Iweala had previously worked in the World Bank Group as Vice-President and Corporate Secretary.
Ngwazi -  Title adopted by Hastings Banda. Literally, ‘great lion’ in Chichewa.
Nick Brathwaite -  Sir Nicholas Brathwaite (b.1925) was a Grenadian political figure who served as interim Prime Minister of Grenada from 1983 to 1984 following the American-led invasion of the country. He served as Prime Minister again from 1990 to 1995 as leader of the National Democratic Congress.
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.
Nick Ridley -  Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, (1929-1993) was a British political figure who served the government of Margaret Thatcher in several ministerial roles. Ridley was Secretary of State for Transport (1983-86), Secretary of State for the Environment (1986-89), and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1989-90). He was a key figure in the government’s approach to the UK miners’ strike (1984-85) and around the introduction of Poll Tax.
Nicolae Ceausescu -  Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-89) was a Romanian politician who, as General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, served as his country’s head of state from 1967 to 1989. He is notorious for the rigidity and brutality of his rule within the Soviet bloc.
Niel Barnard -  Dr Niel Barnard (b. 1949). Former head of the South African National Intelligence Service (1980-92), which came into being under him in 1980.
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).
Nigerian Civil War -  Civil war fought from 1967 to 1970 caused by the attempted secession of the Eastern Region, which declared itself the Republic of Biafra.
Ninian Stephen -  Sir Ninian Stephen (b. 1923). Australian jurist and the 20th Governor-General of Australia (1982-1989).
Nita Barrow -  Nita Barrow (1916-1995). Governor General of Barbados (1990-1995) and a member of the Eminent Persons Group that visited South Africa in 1986.
Nkomati Accord -  The Nkomati Accors was a non-aggression treaty signed by the governments of Mozambique and South Africa in 1984.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma -  Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (b.1949). South African politician and anti-apartheid campaigner, she has served in various ministerial positions including Foreign Minister (1999-2009).
- Synonyms: Dlamini-Zuma
Nkrumahist -  ‘Nkrumahism’ is a term used to describe the social, economic and political philosophy of Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72), the first President of Ghana. An advocate of Pan-Africanism and a non-Aligned Marxism-Leninism, Nkrumah’s approaches to statecraft and the possibility of an ‘African Socialism’ have been influential both in Ghana and across the African continent more generally.
Nobel Peace Prize -  An international award, presented since 1901, that recognises work promoting peace.
Non-aligned movement -  An international organisation of countries that are not aligned with any manjor world power, founded in 1961.
Non-alignment -  A national foreign policy position of avowed neutrality towards major powers.
Non-governmental civil society organisations -  Organisations characterised by their foundation and operation independent of states. They and often pursue charitable and social objectives.
Noordin Sopiee -  Tan Sri Dr Mohammad Noordin Sopiee (1944-2005) was a Malaysian academic and chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), a leading think tank in Malaysia established in 1983. Prior to his involvement with ISIS, Sopiee was editor-in-chief of the New Straits Times.
Norman Kirk -  Norman Eric Kirk (1923-1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as Prime Minister from 1972 until his death in 1974. Kirk had been Leader of the Opposition Labour Party from 1965 to 1972 and had been Member of Parliament since 1957.
Norman Manley -  Norman Manley (1893-1969). Jamaican politician, Chief Minister (1955-1959) and Premier (1959-1962).
Norman Schwarzkof -  Norman Schwarzkof (1934-2012). While Commander of United States Central Command, he was commander of coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991).
Norodom Sihanouk -  Norodom Sihanouk (1922-2012) was a Cambodian royal and political figure who served as King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and then again from 1993 to 2004. He was effective ruler of Cambodia from 1953 to 1970, acting variously as Prime Minister or President, and served as a puppet head of state for the Khmer Rouge government, 1975-76.
- Synonyms: Sihanouk
Nouméa Accord -  The Nouméa Accord was signed into effect on 5 May 1998 and promised to grant political power to New Caledonia while the territory decided whether or not it would remain within the French Republic or become an independent state. The French government continued to control military and foreign affairs, immigration, police and currency as part of the agreement.
NP -  National Party. South African political party, founded in 1915, that governed South Africa from 1948 to 1994, instituting a policy of apartheid.
NPT -  Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (or informally, Non-Proliferation Treaty) of 1968. Signatory states pledge to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
Ntsu Mokhehle -  Ntsu Mokhehle (1918-1999) was a Lesotho political figure who served as Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Mokhehle was founder of the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP; later ‘Basotho Congress Party’) in 1952. He led the BCP until 1997, resigning to form a new party – the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) – in that same year.
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.