Reflections Archives - Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Billie Miller

by nicholaszuniga | May 4, 2017 | Barbados, CARICOM, Civil Society, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Gender, Human Rights, Jamaica, Judiciary, Law, Reflections, Small States, Trade and Investment, Trade Unions, Trinidad and Tobago

Download the transcript (12 Jan 2015) Biography – Dame Billie Miller was educated at Queen’s College in Barbados, King’s College, Durham University and the Council of Legal Education in England. She was the coordinator of CARICOM ministerial spokespersons with...

Interview with David McDowell

by chrismoffat | Jul 31, 2015 | Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Canada, CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Diplomacy, Environment, Fiji, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Nuclear, Pakistan, Queen, Reflections, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), Singapore, Small States, South Africa, Sport, Technical Assistance, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcripts: Part One (24 June 2014); Part Two (2 July 2014); Appendix One (on Nelson Mandela); Appendix Two (on Idi Amin). Biography: McDowell, David Keith. 1937- . Born in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Educated at Victoria University of...

Clyde Sanger’s Reflections on the 1979 Lusaka CHOGM

by chrismoffat | Jul 29, 2015 | CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Diplomacy, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Kenya, Media, Reflections, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), South Africa, United Kingdom, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Copy of Journal. “Journal of an Extraordinary Heads of Government Meeting: Lusaka, Zambia, August 1979. Other than at Marlborough House, I was in Zambia (p.14-28, 57-138, 139; Conference 116-37), Nairobi (p.139), France (p.140-4), England...

Interview with RF ‘Pik’ Botha

by chrismoffat | Feb 16, 2015 | Angola, Apartheid, Botswana, CHOGM, Cold War, Commonwealth Secretariat, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Elections, Mozambique, Namibia, Nuclear, Race, Reflections, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), South Africa, United Kingdom, United Nations, USA, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript; Appendix One; Appendix Two. Biography: Botha, Roelof Frederik ‘Pik’. 1932- . Born in Rustenburg, Transvaal Province, Union of South Africa. Studied at the University of Pretoria before beginning a career in the South African foreign...

Interview with Kaliopate Tavola

by chrismoffat | Feb 9, 2015 | Australia, China, CHOGM, Democracy, Elections, European Economic Community, Fiji, Good Governance, New Zealand, Queen, Reflections, Small States, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Tavola, Kaliopate. 1946- . Born in Dravuni, Fiji. Agricultural Economist with the Fijian Ministry of Agriculture, 1973-1984. Counsellor with the Fijian High Commission, London, 1984-88. Ambassador to Belgium, 1988-98,...

Interview with Hugh Craft

by chrismoffat | Jan 22, 2015 | Apartheid, Australia, Canada, CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Cyprus, Diplomacy, Elections, Fiji, Grenada, India, Maldives, Reflections, Singapore, Small States, South Africa, Technical Assistance, Uganda, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, United Nations, USA, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Craft, Nickless Hugh. Born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. Graduated from the University of Cambridge, 1971 (BA) and 1974 (MA). Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), 1971-1979, with diplomatic postings...

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Definitioner

Roland Brown

Roland Brown was an English barrister who acted as constitutional adviser to Julius Nyerere and was appointed as the first Attorney General of Tanzania, serving 1964 to 1965. Brown later served as Special Legal Adviser to the Technical Assistance Group, Commonwealth Secretariat.

Hugh Craft

Dr Nickless Hugh Craft is an Australian diplomat who served as Director of the International Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, from 1979 to 1988. He was subsequently the Senior Executive of Environment Australia (1992-99) and member of the Department of the Australian Prime Minister and Cabinet (1999-2002).

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.

Matthew Neuhaus

Matthew Neuhaus is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia, and was appointed Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe in 2011. From 2002 to 2008 he served as Director of the Political Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, and was Assistant Secretary and Head of the CHOGM Policy Task Force in Australia.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’.

Palme Commission

The Palme Commission was an Independent Commission on Disarmament and Security Issues chaired by the Swedish politician and statesman Olof Palme. It issued a ‘Common Security’ Report in 1982, critical of the nuclear arms race.

Satya Nandan

Satya N Nandan is a Fijian diplomat and lawyer who was representative of Fiji at the UN (1970-76 and 93-95), and Fiji’s Ambassador to the European Union (1976-80). Nandan has served as Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, and in 2009 was appointed Chairman of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

Fuwad Thowfeek

Fuwad Thowfeek served as Elections Commissioner in the Republic of Maldives before being dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2014 on charges of contempt of court. Thowfeek had disbanded eight political parties with less than 3000 members despite the Supreme Court asking him not to go ahead with the move.

Akbar Khan

Akbar Khan is a British diplomat and lawyer who served as the Principal Legal Counsel to the Commonwealth Secretary-General from 2009 to 2012, leading the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Legal Division. In 2012 he was appointed a Member of the World Economic Forum Global Council on the Rule of Law.

Irene Jai Narayan

Irene Jai Narayan, b. 1932 in India, came to Fiji in 1959 and had a long career as an educator and politician in the Melanesian Republic. She was Minister of Indian Affairs from 1987 to 1992.

Jai Ram Reddy

Jai Ram Reddy, b.1937, is an Indo-Fijian statesman and leader of the National Federation Party from 1977 to 1987 and 1992 to 1999. He later served as President of the Fiji Court of Appeal.

SM Koya

Siddiq Moidin Koya (1924-1993) was a Fijian Indian politician and leader of the National Federation Party.

William Heseltine

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

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.

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.

Ismail Ayob

Ismail Mohammad Ayob, b.1942, is a South African lawyer who spent much of his career working on anti-apartheid cases, defending and representing political prisoners. One of his most high profile clients was Winnie Mandela. In the 2000s, Ayob was accused by Nelson Mandela of exploiting the latter’s name for commercial profit, leading to a highly-publicised court case.

Gough Whitlam

Edward Gough Whitlam (1916-2014) was the 21^st Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975.

Babangida

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, b.1941, was the military ruler of Nigeria from 1985 until 1993, having come to power in a coup against Muhammadu Buhari.

Helmut Schmidt

Helmut Schmidt, b.1918, is a German politician who served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982.

Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt (1913-1992) was a German statesman and politician who served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 to 1974.

BMATT

The British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT) is an arm of the UK Ministry of Defence and co-ordinates security co-operation programmes within developing or post-conflict countries.

Selous Scouts

The Selous Scouts was a special forces regiment of the Rhodesian Army charged with countering terrorism in the country, largely during the period of the Rhodesian Bush War. The Scouts operated from 1973 until the establishment of Zimbabwe in 1980.

Shirley Amarasinghe

Hamilton Shirley Amarasinghe (1913-1980) was a diplomat and civil servant who served as Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1967 to 1980. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1976, and a key figure in negotiations to draft the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Margaret Ling

Margaret Ling joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the UK as a student in 1972. From 1975 to 1984 she worked in the Information Department of the International Defence and Aid Fund, and edited the AAM’s monthly newspaper Anti-Apartheid News throughout the 1980s.

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.

Gukuruhundi killings

'Gukuruhundi’ refers to the 1984-1987 suppression of Zimbabwean civilians in the wake of the Rhodesian Bush War, when members of the Fifth Brigade brutally crushed supporters of Joseph Nkomo in Matabeleland. The word ‘Gukuruhundi’ is Shona for “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains”. The violence was ended by the formation of ZANU PF and the establishment of Robert Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe.

laager

Laager is an Afrikaans word for ‘camp’ or defensive position, referring to a formation used by South African wagon travellers to protect their cattle and horses from raiders or predators.

Black Sash Movement

The Black Sash Movement was founded in South Africa in 1955 as a non-violent white women’s movement against apartheid. It campaigned for the end of apartheid from within white communities, holding regular demonstrations and acting as volunteer advocates for black communities affected by racist legislation.

Allan Boesak

Allan Boesak, b.1946, is a South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric and anti-apartheid activist. In 1985 he won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award along with Winnie Mandela and Beyers Naude.

Smith Regime

The ‘Smith Regime’ refers to the tenure of Ian Douglas Smith as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 1964 to 1979, a controversial period of white minority rule and sustained conflict with black nationalist guerilla groups led by Robert Mugabe, among others.

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.

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.

Peter Jay

Peter Jay, b. 1937 in London, is a British economist, broadcaster and diplomat. From 1977 to 1979 he served as British Ambassador to the United States.

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.

Goa Declaration

The Goa Declaration was a statement on International Security made by Commonwealth Leaders from Fort Aguada, Goa, India, in 1983. In the Declaration, the leaders condemned the extension of nuclear arsenals in the context of the Cold War and called for resources to be devoted to development partnerships rather than weaponry. A copy is available online via the Margaret Thatcher Foundation Archive.

Raja Gomez

Raja Gomez is a Sri Lankan civil servant who joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1976 as Assistant Director of the Management Development Division, later becoming Director. From 1984, he was Director of the Commonwealth Youth Programme and in 1992 became Director of Development and Planning for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Jon Sheppard

Jon Sheppard was the Director of Political Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat from 1996 to 2002. He has served as Australian Ambassador to Ethiopia (1985-89), Jordan (1992-95) and Zimbabwe (2004-07).

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.

Bougainville Agreement

The 1967 Mining (Bougainville Copper Agreement) Act was passed by the Australian Territory of Papua New Guinea to implement an agreement made with Bougainville Copper Limited regarding the development of certain mineral deposits in Bougainville. The Agreement was renegotiated with the emergence of Papua New Guinea as an independent state in 1974.

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.

Ed Dommen

Edward Dommen is a Swiss economist who spent his career as a researcher for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He also served as president of the Scientific Committee of the Geneva International Academic Network (GIAN).

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.

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.

Salv Stellini

Salv Stellini is a Maltese diplomat who served as Ambassador to the United States and Ireland as well as High Commissioner in London. In the 1970s he was seconded to the Commonwealth Secretariat and worked alongside Secretary General Sonny Ramphal. He would later act as CHOGM Task Force chairman leading up to the 2005 meeting in Valetta, Malta.

Henry Lynch-Shyllon

Henry M Lynch-Shyllon was a Sierra Leonean diplomat who served as the country’s United Nations Mission to the United States. He was later Director of the Administrative Division in Sierra Leone.

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.

CHOGRM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meetings (CHOGRMs) had their origins in a series of talks between the Australian and Indian Governments under the Prime Minsisters Malcolm Fraser, Moraji Desai, and Indira Gandhi.

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd, b.1957, was twice Prime Minister of Australia (2007-10, 2013), leading a Labor Party government. He has also acted as Minister for Foreign Affairs (2010-12) under the leadership of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Andy Williams (Andrew Williams)

Andrew Williams, Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, acted as Editor for ‘Round Table: the Commonwealth Journal of International Studies’ from 2004 to 2008.

Karamanlis

Konstantinos Karamanlis (1907-1998) was a major figure in twentieth-century Greek politics, acting as Prime Minister four times (1955-58, 58-61, 61-63 and 74-80) and President twice (80-85, 90-95). He was associated with the right-wing conservative National Radical Union party and the New Democracy party.

Victoria League

The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship was established in 1901 to promote “friendship and hospitality across the Commonwealth nations”. In addition to fundraising, education and social initiatives, the League runs a Student House in London for Commonwealth students.

Whitlam Government

The ‘Whitlam Government’ was the federal Executive Government of Australia from 1972 to 1975, led by the Australian Labor Party with Gough Whitlam as Prime Minister.

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.

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.

Ratu Mara

Sir Kamisese Mara (1920-2004). Fijian politician. He was Prime Minister of Fiji, 1970-92. Though defeated in the election of 1987, he headed an interim administration following a military coup, until 1992. He was then President of Fiji, 1993-2000.

Pacific Islands Forum

The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization. Founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum, it aims to enhance cooperation between the countries of the Pacific Ocean.

Gonzi

Lawrence Gonzi (b. 1953). Maltese politician. He was leader of the Nationalist Party and Prime Minister of Malta, 2004-13. He was Chairperson-in-Office of the Commonwealth, 2005-07.

APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was established in 1989 and is a forum seeking to promote free trade and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Andrew Peacock

Andrew Peacock (b. 1939). Australian politician. Member of the Liberal Party, which he led 1983-85 and 1989-90.

Alliance Party

The Alliance Party was a Fijian political party that ruled from 1966 to 1987 when it was beaten by a coalition led by Timoci Badavra.

Peter Snelson

Peter Snelson (d. 2011) was a civil servant. He worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London for 19 years, largely in the field of education.

Jeremy Pope

Jeremy Pope (1938-2012). New Zealand-born activist. In 1980 he was appointed director of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division. In 1993 he co-founded the anti-corruption organisation Transparency International.

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.

Idi Amin

Idi Amin (c. 1925-2003). Became President of Uganda, 1971-79, after seizing power through a military coup.

ZAPU

Zimbabwe African People’s Union. A militant political organisation founded in 1961 that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia. Merged with ZANU in 1987 to form ZANU-PF.

World Bank

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

United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.

UDF

United Democratic Front. A South African anti-aparthied organisation, founded in 1983.

Pierre Trudeau

Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000). Canadian politician and Prime Minister (1968-1979, 1980-1984).

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.

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).

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.

SAG

South African Government.

Patsy Robertson

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

Sonny Ramphal (Shridath Ramphal)

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

Sitiveni Rabuka

Sitiveni Rabuka (b. 1948). Fijian soldier, led to military coups in 1987, and later elected Prime Minister (1992-1999).

Rabuka (Sitiveni Rabuka)

Sitiveni Rabuka (b. 1948). Fijian soldier, led to military coups in 1987, and later elected Prime Minister (1992-1999).

Ratu Penaia

Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau (1918-1993). Fijian politician, Governor-General of Fiji (1983-1987) and President of Fiji (1987-1993).

PAC (Pan-Africanist Congress)

The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) is a left-wing Black Nationalist political movement in South Africa, founded by ex-African National Congress activist Robert Sobukwe in 1959. During the anti-apartheid struggle, the PAC represented a radical perspective focused on black power as against than the ANC’s multi-racial openness.

General Obasanjo (Olusegun Obasanjo)

Olusegun Obasanjo (b. 1937). Nigerian Head of Federal Military Government (1976-1979) and President (1999-2007). He was Co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa (1985-1986).

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.

NATO

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

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.

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 Mugabe

Robert Mugabe (b.1924). Zimbabwean resistance leader and politician. Served as Prime Minister (1980-1987) and President (1987-) of Zimbabwe.

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.

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.

Winnie Mandela

Winnie Mandela (b. 1936). South African politician, held junior ministerial office from 1994 to 1996. She was married to Nelson Mandela from 1959 until their divorce in 1996.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela (b. 1918). South African anti-apartheid campaigner and politician, served as South Africa’s first post-apartheid President (1994-1999).

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.

Lee Kwan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew (1923-2015). Singaporean Prime Minister (1959-1990).

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.

Kenneth Kaunda

Kenneth Kaunda (b.1924). Zambian politician and President (1964-1991).

Derek Ingram

Derek Ingram (b. 1925). British journalist and writer with a particular interest in Commonwealth issues.

IDAF

International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa. International anti-apartheid charity, originally founded in 1956 and active until 1990.

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).

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.

Mrs. Gandhi (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.

Front Line States

A group of southern African states formed in 1970, which campaigned for democratic majority rule in South Africa.

Malcolm Fraser

Malcolm Fraser (b. 1930). Prime Minister of Australia (1975-1983). Fraser also served as Co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa.

Gareth Evans

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

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.

Alexander Downer

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

Delhi in 1983

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was held in New Delhi in 1983.

John Compton

Sir John Compton (1925–2007). Saint Lucian politician and Prime Minister (1979, 1982-1996, 2006-2007).

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.

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.

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.

COSATU

The Congress of South African Trade Unions. A South African federation of trade unions, founded in 1985.

Pik Botha

Roelof Botha (b. 1932).South African politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1977-1994).

British Commonwealth

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

Tony Blair

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

Maurice Bishop

Maurice Bishop (1944-1983). Grenadian politician and Prime Minister (1979-1983). The New Jewel Party under Bishop seized power from Eric Gairy in 1979.

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

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).

ANC

African National Congress. A South African political party, founded in 1912, that opposed apartheid and has been South Africa’s governing party since 1994.

ABC countries

Within the Commonwealth, Australia, Britain and Canada.

Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM)

The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British activist organisation founded in 1959 to oppose white minority rule in South Africa. It continued to run until 1994, supporting economic and academic sanctions of South Africa and cooperating with other international organisations like the UN.

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 Billie Miller

Interview with David McDowell

Clyde Sanger’s Reflections on the 1979 Lusaka CHOGM

Interview with RF ‘Pik’ Botha

Interview with Kaliopate Tavola

Interview with Hugh Craft

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