Glossary

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Tamil Nadu -  A state of southern India.
Tamils -  The Tamils are an ethnic group indigenous to parts of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Tanganyika African National Union -  The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the leading nationalist political party in the East African state of Tanganyika. It was founded in 1954 by Julius Nyerere as the ‘Tanganyika African Association’. In 1977, the party merged with the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) to form Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), a centre-left party which continues to dominate politics in an independent Tanzania.
- Synonyms: TANU
TanZam -  A railway built by China linking Zambia and Tanzania. Agreed in 1967, and constructed from 197- to 1975.
TBVC -  The four Bantustans (Transkei, Bophutatswana, Venda and Ciskei) that were intended to become fully sovereign nations.
Teesta dispute -  A dispute between Bangladesh and India concerning the water of the Teesta River, that flows through both countries. Disputes over rivers have been a problem in Bangladeshi-Indian relations since the 1970s.
Telford Georges -  Philip Telford Georges (1923-2005) was a Dominica-born legal scholar and jurist who served as Judge of the High Court and Acting Justice of Appeal in Trinidad and Tobago and Chief Justice of the Commonwealth in the Bahamas. Georges also worked in Africa as Chief Justice of Tanzania and later of Zimbabwe. He was Professor of Law at the University of the West Indies.
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.
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).
Thatcher’s Government tightened student visas -  The Thatcher government from 1979 took various measures to tighten up nationality and citizenship laws in 1981. After re-election in 1983 her government introduced visa requirements for certain Commonwealth countries.
The Council of Churches -  The South African Council of Churches. A South African ecumenical organisation founded in 1968 that campaigned against apartheid.
The Discovery of India -  A book written by Nehru while imprisoned from 1942 to 1946.
The Lusaka CHOGM -  Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Zambia in 1979.
The Thick of It -  ‘In the Thick of It’. A television comedy, made between 2005 and 2012, that satirised the workings of the British government.
Theo-Ben Gurirab -  Theo-Ben Gurirab (b.1939) is a Namibian political figure who served as his country’s Prime Minister from 2002 to 2005. He had previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990-2002) and would subsequently act as Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia (2005-15). Gurirab was Associate Representative of SWAPO to the United Nations in New York from 1962 to 1989. He was SWAPO’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1986 to 1990.
Three island state of St Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla -  St Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla achieved internal autonomy from Britain in 1967 as a single state. In 1971, Anguilla left the state, becoming a British Overseas Territory.
Ticky Kaul -  Triloki Nath Kaul (1913-2000) was an Indian diplomat who served as Indian Foreign Secretary from 1967 to 1972. Kaul was India’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union, the United States and Iran, as well as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He was Chairman of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
Tilak Gooneratne -  Tilak Eranga Gooneratne (1919-2003) was a Sri Lankan diplomat who served as the first Deputy Secretary General for Economic Affairs and Development in the Commonwealth Secretariat from 1965 to 1970. Gooneratne was later Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in London (1970-75) and then Ambassador to the European Economic Community (1975-78).
Timoci Bavadra -  Timoci Bavadra (1934-89). Fijian politician and founder of the Fijian Labour Party. He was Prime Minister, April 1987-May 1987, before being ousted by a coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka.
Tiny Rowland -  Roland ‘Tiny’ Rowland (1917-1998) was a British business leader who acted as Chief Executive for Lonhro plc from 1962 to 1994. He is responsible for expanding the company’s interests from mining to a variety of activities, such as newspapers, hotels, distribution and textiles.
Tito Okello -  General Tito Lutwa Okello (1914-1996) was a Ugandan military and political figure who acted as President of Uganda from 1985 to 1986. He was commander of the Ugandan National Liberation Army from 1980 to 1985 before staging a coup to oust President Milton Obote. Okello was subsequently overthrown by Yoweri Museveni and the National Resistance Army.
Tobaiwa Mudede -  Tobaiwa Mudede (b.1944) is a Zimbabwean political figure who has served as Registrar-General for the government of Robert Mugabe since 1980. In this position he has overseen every election held in the country since 1980.
Tokyo Sexwale -  Mosima Gabriel ‘Tokyo’ Sexwale (b.1953) is an influential South African political figure and businessman. Sexwale joined the anti-Apartheid movement in his youth and, arrested after returning from a period of military training in the Soviet Union, was imprisoned on Robben Island from 1977 to 1990. He was the First Premier of Gauteng from 1994 to 1998, and Minister of Human Settlements under President Jacob Zuma, 2009-13.
Tom Adams -  Tom Adams (1931-1985). Barbadian politician and Prime Minister (1976 -1985).
Tom Kellock -  Thomas Oslaf Kellock (1923-1993) was a British lawyer who served as Legal Director in the Commonwealth Secretariat from 1969 to 1972. Kellock was previously Chairman of the Anti-Apartheid Movement (1963-65) and, as a lawyer, worked in Fiji, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Zambia.
Tom Mboya -  Tom Mboya (1930-1969). Kenyan politician. After independence, he was appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, then Minister for Economic Planning and Development, until his assassination in 1969.
Tommy Ikimi -  Chief Tom Ikimi (b.1941) was Foreign Minister for Nigeria between 1995 and 1998, serving in the cabinet of General Sani Abacha.
- Synonyms: Tom Ikimi
Tony Blair -  Tony Blair (b. 1953). British politician, served as Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007.
Tony Cole -  Anthony Stuart ‘Tony’ Cole (b.1947) is a senior Australian public servant. He served as Secretary of the Department of the Treasury (1991-93), Secretary of the Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services (1993), and Secretary of the Department of Human Services and Health (1993-94).
Tony Eggleton -  Anthony Eggleton (b. 1932). He was Director of Information at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, 1971-74 and later became Federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Tony Lloyd -  Tony Lloyd (b.1950). British politician, junior minister at the Foreign Office (1997-1999).
Tony Nelson -  Anthony Nelson (b.1948) is a British political figure and businessman who served as Conservative Member of Parliament for Chichester from 1974 to 1997.
Tor Sellstrom -  Tor Sellstrom is a Swedish civil servant, economist and writer who spent a large part of his career working in Southern Africa. From 1977 to 1979, Sellstrom assisted SWAPO of Namibia as part of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He was later a Planning Economist for the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) in Zambia (1979-82), Mozambique/Swaziland (1982-83) and Zimbabwe (1986-90). Sellstrom was also associated with the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (1991-94) and the Nordic African Institute (1994-2001).
TP Sreenivasan -  TP Sreenivasan is an Indian diplomat who has served as his country’s High Commissioner to Kenya (1995-97) as well as Ambassador to Fiji (1986-89) and Austria and Slovenia (2001-04). Sreenivasan was Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York (1992-95) and Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India, Washington (1997-2000).
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’.
TRC -  Truth and Reconciliation Commission. South African body that conducted hearings from 1996 to 1998 on abuses committed by all sides under apartheid.
Treasury tags -  An item of stationery used to fasten together papers for filing, particularly associated with the British civil service.
Treaty of Rome -  The Treaty of Rome is an international agreement signed in 1957 that led to the founding of the European Economic Community (EEC) the following year. The Treaty’s original signatories were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, though the body has grown and the terms of cooperation adapted through subsequent treaties in Maastricht (1993) and Lisbon (2009), establishing the present-day European Union.
Trevor Manuel -  Trevor Manuel, b.1956, is a South African politician who served as Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2009 and Minister in the Presidency for the National Planning Commission from 2009 to 2014.
Tri-cameral parliamentary arrangements -  The South African parliament had three chambers from 1984 to 1994. The chambers represented white, ‘Coloured’ and Indian populations, excluding blacks from representation.
Tricameral Parliament -  The Tricameral Parliament was the name given to the South African Parliament from 1984 to 1994 following constitutional reform in 1983. It gave limited political representation to the country’s non-white groups, but still excluded the black majority.
Trilateral agreement -  A 1988 agreement between Angola, Cuba and South Africa that paved the way for the independence of Namibia in 1990.
Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 -  The 2009 CHOGM was held in Trinidad and Tobago and robustly reaffirmed the Commonwealth’s core values.
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.
Trooping the Colour -  ‘Trooping the Colour’ is a traditional ceremony performed on the birthday of the British sovereign on the Horse Guards Parade by St James’s Park. It involves regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies, and has taken place since at least the 17th century.
TUC -  Trade Union Council. A federation of British trade unions, founded in 1868.
- Synonyms: Trade Union Council
Tunku Rahman -  Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj (1903-1990) was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955 and Malaya’s first Prime Minister upon independence in 1957. He oversaw the creation of the federation of Malaysia in 1963 and is widely seen as Bapa Malaysia (‘Father of Malaysia’). ‘Tunku’, a princely title associated with Abdul Rahman, was also the First Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (1971-73).
- Synonyms: Tunku
Tupuola Efi -  Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Tufuga Efi, b.1938 in Samoa, also known as Tupuola Efi, was Prime Minister of Samoa from 1976 to 1982. In 2007, he was elected 'O le Ao o le Malo', Samoa’s head of state.