Jamsheed Marker (24 November 1922 – 21 June 2018) was a Pakistani diplomat and a cricket commentator. The recipient of Hilal-e-Imtiaz, he was associated with diplomatic career for over 42 years.Jamsheed Marker Leading Pakistani Diplomat dies at 95 (New York Times).
/ref> He was notable for his tenure as Ambassador to the United States, serving from 17 September 1986 to 30 June 1989 during the administrations of

Prime Ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

Muhammad Khan Junejo and

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

. He claimed to have helped negotiate the Soviet military withdrawal from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. From 1995 through 2005, Marker taught a course in "Diplomacy in International Relations" at

Eckerd College Eckerd College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront (area), waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega ...

, a Private

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Awards and recognition

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the Government of Pakist ...

Award (Crescent of Excellence) by President

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

in 2003. * Sitara-i-Quaid-e-Azam Award

Early life

Jamsheed Kekobad Ardeshir Marker was born in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, India, on 24 November 1922, into a distinguished Parsee (

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

), or Zoroastrian, family that had been in shipping business. His father was Kekobad Ardeshir Marker, who ran the family pharmaceutical business, and his mother was Meherbano Marker nee Pestonji, a homemaker. He attended the elite Doon boarding school (

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a Selective school, selective all-boys Private school, private boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer ...

) in Dehradun, India, and Forman Christian College University in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan. In early days at school level in

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

located in India, Marker played cricket there and later at F.C. College Lahore.

Career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Marker was an officer in the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve, commanding a minesweeper. He was awarded the 1939/45 Star, Burma Star, War Service Medal for his military service. He worked in his family business, shipping and pharmaceuticals, after the Second World War ended, and during the 1950s became famous for his radio commentary on cricket, one of Pakistan’s most popular sports.

Cricket commentator

Marker was a radio cricket match commentator. His first broadcast was from the Bagh-e-Jinnah, also known as Lawrence Garden, in Lahore when India visited

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# ...

on their first cricket tour in 1954. He teamed up with cricket commentator

Omar Kureishi Omar Kureishi (1928 – 14 March 2005) was a Pakistani writer. He had also worked in the advertising, aviation and journalism industry, writing for ''Dawn'', ''The Pakistan Times'', ''Morning News'' and ''The Guardian'', London. He is best known ...

for the first time as a

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

cricket commentator.Profile: Jamsheed Marker – eminent Parsi, the first amongst the equals
Dawn (newspaper), Published 27 April 2014, Retrieved 29 December 2019

Diplomat

Marker worked in his family's shipping business until April 1965, when he was appointed

's High Commissioner to

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

during the height of popularity for its independence leader

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

, with concurrent accreditation to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

and

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. He afterward represented Pakistan in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(1969 – 1972), Canada,

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, Japan, the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, ) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG administrative offices are located inside ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, France, the United States (1986 – 1989) and finally the United Nations in New York City (1990 – 1994). Marker served as Ambassador of Pakistan continually for thirty years, in ten different capitals, and nine further concurrent accreditations. Jamsheed Marker was able to communicate in English, French, German, Russian,

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and his native language

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

. He was appointed Ambassador to the United States in 1986 and helped negotiate the Soviet military withdrawal from

. Marker, in his 2010 memoir "Quiet Diplomacy," described contacts with official and unofficial representatives from both the United States and the Soviet Union, where he had also been ambassador. Pakistan was playing a key role in the negotiations. He also worked closely with the Pakistani military dictator

General Zia Ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also served as the second chief of t ...

as the general developed the country’s clandestine nuclear weapons program. In 1999, he served as United Nations Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

's Special Representative to

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

.. Annan is reported to have hailed Marker's "empathy for both sides in the talks"., p. 1A. The Portuguese foreign minister praised Marker's "sophisticated and calm approach" while the Indonesian foreign minister said Marker's "diplomatic skills smoothed the way whenever there was a 'snag in the negotiations'". Marker chronicled his experiences in his 2003 book "East Timor: A Memoir of the Negotiations for Independence." The British journalist

Richard Lloyd Parry Richard Lloyd Parry (born 1969) is a British foreign correspondent and writer. He is the Asia Editor of ''The Times'' of London, based in Tokyo, and is the author of the non-fiction books ''In the Time of Madness'', ''People Who Eat Darkness: Th ...

, in his book ''In the Time of Madness'',Lloyd Parry, Richard, ''In the Time of Madness'', Cape, 2005, p. 254. recalls Marker's words of praise for the Indonesian police and the "superb leadership" of their commander Timbul Silaien after the referendum on independence for East Timor and its bloody preamble. Within days, these same Indonesian security forces were engaged in the deportation and, in some cases, the killing of East Timorese. Marker also served as ambassador in France, the

, Canada, Japan, West Germany and East Germany — where he opened the Pakistani Embassy. Despite being a non-Muslim in conservative Muslim Pakistan, he was broadly respected at home and had close relationships with several leaders of the country. Some critics say Marker was more at ease with the military rulers of the country than its civilian leaders. In his book "Cover Point" (2016), Marker remembered General

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

, Pakistan’s first military ruler, as a leader who "did give us security, law and order, good governance and economic prosperity." Marker had little praise for civilian prime ministers like

and

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

, whom he regarded as financially corrupt, and he was critical of

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

's iron-fisted management style while praising many of his qualities, the former prime minister and father of Ms. Bhutto, blaming him for most of his country’s ailments.

Teaching

From 1995 through 2005, Marker taught a course in "Diplomacy in International Relations" at

in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. In September 2004, Pakistani Prime Minister

Shaukat Aziz Shaukat Aziz (born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani-born British former banker who served as the 15th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007. When his term as Prime Minister was over, he immediately left Pakistan and se ...

named Marker as ambassador-at-large for his years of service., p. 22. In June 2011, Marker was awarded an honorary doctorate by Forman Christian College University, Lahore, at the 2011–12 Commencement. Marker received the

Award (Crescent of Excellence) from

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

in 2003.

Death and legacy

Marker was married to Arnaz Minwalla. He was previously married to Diana Faridoon Dinshaw who died in 1979 of cancer. He had two daughters with Dinshaw: Niloufer Reifler and Feroza, who died in a car crash in the US in 2001.Marker, Kekobad Ardeshir, ''A Petal from the Rose'' Karachi, 1985, vol. II, p. 240. Jamsheed Marker died on 21 June 2018 in Karachi at the age of 95. Besides his daughter, Niloufer, from his first marriage, he is survived by his wife, Arnaz (Minwalla) Marker; and his brother, Minocher Marker (Minoo Marker). Jamsheed Marker served as a Pakistani diplomat continually for 30 years. He..."helped negotiate the withdrawal of the former Soviet military from

" in 1988-1989. As of June 2018, this service earned him the title of 'ambassador to more countries than any other person'

Published works

* * *

References