Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Leslie Norman Mungavin (22 March 1925 – 1995) was a two-star rank admiral in the Pakistan Navy, and a defence diplomat. He is noted for releasing his diplomatic assignment at the High Commission of Pakistan in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to command the combat assignments during the war on the Western front with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1971. He also served as vice-chief of naval staff from 1975 until 1977, with a two-star rank despite the position is required an admiral to be promoted in three-star rank, the Vice-Admiral.

Career

Mungavin joined the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. F ...

in 1945, and transferred to the Pakistan Navy after the

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

in 1947, where his career in the navy progressed well till his retirement as VIce Chief of Naval Staff at the rank of Rear Admiral.Dharkan Fall 2006
He specialized in

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

at the training establishment in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

.Indian Defence Review 21 June 2011
/ref> In 1950s, he commanded and the Pakistan Navy flagship . In 1964, Commander Mungavin was the commanding officer of PNS ''Babur'', and participated in the second war with India in 1965. In 1970, Cdre. Mungavin was posted as

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

Naval Attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

at the High Commission of Pakistan in

, where his services and negotiation skills merited him a

Sitara-e-Pakistan The Nishan-e-Pakistan ( ur, , , ''Order of Pakistan'') is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded for "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan i ...

award. Cdre. Mungavin left his assignment, only to be promoted as

, and took up the command as

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Pakistan Marines ur, اور اللہ کی رسی مضبوط تھام لو سب مل کر اور آپس میں پھٹ نہ جانا (فرقوں میں نہ بٹ جانا) "And hold fast to the rope of Allah, all of you together, and do not be divided;" (''Qur'an ...

which he led in the Western Front of the Indo-Pakistani war against India in 1971. Furthermore, he was noted for his skills in negotiation which earned him to be decorated as and merited him with a

. In 1970s, he was elevated as the vice-chief of naval staff from 1975 until 1977, with a two-star rank despite the position is required an admiral to be promoted in three-star rank, the Vice-Admiral. In 1980s, Rear Admiral Mungavin was also involved with the negotiations with the US Department of State when the Pakistan Navy was interested in replacing their aging fleet with ''Gearing''-class destroyers. From January 1979 to April 1980 he served as the Chairman of the Board of the

Pakistan National Shipping Corporation The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) is a Pakistani national flag carrier and is one of Government of Pakistan's most profitable state-owned entities, most recently having recorded its highest ever profit of PKR 5.6 billion under the ...

Death

Admiral Mungavin died in 1995 in England. At his request his body was cremated, ashes taken back to Pakistan and spread in the Arabian Sea. The Pakistan Navy honored him with a full military funeral and his ashes were taken out to sea on board the PNS Babur and scattered there.

References

External links

*Shah, Mian Zahir (2001). "The Wit of Mungavin". Bubbles of Water: Or, Anecdotes of the Pakistan Navy. Karachi, Pakistan: PN Book Club Publication. p. 487. . Retrieved 15 August 2017. } {{DEFAULTSORT:Mungavin, Leslie 1925 births 1995 deaths Royal Indian Navy officers Pakistani Christians Pakistan Navy officers Admirals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistan Marines Pakistan Navy admirals Recipients of the Sitara-e-Pakistan Pakistani naval attachés