Sir John Gilbert Laithwaite (5 July 1894 – 21 December 1986) was a British civil servant and diplomat, born and raised in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He reached the top of his profession, becoming

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

of the Commonwealth Relations Office in 1955.

Early life

Gilbert Laithwaite was the eldest of two sons and two daughters, born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. His father was John Laithwaite of the Post Office survey. His mother was Mary Kearney whose family hailed from

Castlerea Castlerea ( ; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 2,348 at the 2022 census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled castle' (''Caisl ...

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

. Laithwaite was a first cousin of the Irish Republican leader Ernie O'Malley. Laithwaite went to

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

, where he won a scholarship to

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, going on to achieve a second-class degree. He received an honorary fellowship from that college in 1955. Laithwaite was a homosexual.

War service

In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Laithwaite served in the British army in France as a second lieutenant with the 10th Lancashire Fusiliers. He was wounded in 1918. In 1971 he published an account of part of his war experience entitled ''21 March 1918: Memories of an Infantry Officer''.

Career

Following the war, Laithwaite joined the

India Office The India Office was a British government department in London established in 1858 to oversee the administration of the Provinces of India, through the British viceroy and other officials. The administered territories comprised most of the mo ...

. In 1931 he was attached to Prime Minister

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

for the second Indian round-table conference in London. Work in India followed, on the

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

Committee on Indian Franchise, which extended the Indian franchise to 35 million voters. From 1936 to 1943 he was principal private secretary to the

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

, Lord Linlithgow. In 1943 he returned to Britain as assistant under-secretary of state for India. In 1947 he took part in London talks on Burmese independence, also attended by

Stafford Cripps Sir Richard Stafford Cripps (24 April 1889 – 21 April 1952) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, barrister, and diplomat. A wealthy lawyer by background, Cripps first entered Parliament at a 1931 Bristol East by-election ...

and

Aung San Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947), known honorifically as '' Bogyoke'' Aung San, was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he w ...

. In 1949, he became United Kingdom representative, and from 1 July 1950 Ambassador, to

(where, despite being half Irish, he was generally seen as less successful than his predecessor Lord Rugby in establishing friendly relations with members of the Irish Cabinet). In 1951 he became high commissioner to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. In this position he became concerned with the implications of US military aid to Pakistan under

Iskander Mirza Iskander Ali Mirza (13 November 189913 November 1969) was a Bengali politician, statesman and military general who served as the Dominion of Pakistan's fourth and last governor-general of Pakistan from 1955 to 1956, and then as the Islamic Repub ...

. He reached the apex of his career as

at the Commonwealth Relations Office from 1955 to 1959, visiting Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. From 1963 to 1966 he was vice-chairman of the

Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust was a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pr ...

Honours

Laithwaite was appointed CIE in the

1935 New Year Honours The 1935 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were a ...

, CSI in the 1938 New Year Honours and knighted KCIE in 1941. He was further appointed KCMG in the 1948 New Year Honours, GCMG in the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in '' The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The rec ...

and KCB in the 1956 New Year Honours. In 1960 he was appointed a Knight of Malta. He was president of the

Hakluyt Society The Hakluyt Society is a text publication society, founded in 1846 and based in London, England, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of historic voyages, travels and other geographical material. In addition to its publishin ...

(1964–1969), vice-president of the Royal Central Asian Society (1967) and president of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(1966–1969).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laithwaite, Gilbert 1894 births 1986 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Irish knights Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Order of the Star of India Irish gay men LGBTQ diplomats Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ireland High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Pakistan People educated at Clongowes Wood College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office