Margaret Anstee
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Dame Margaret Joan Anstee, (25 June 1926 – 25 August 2016) was a British diplomat who served at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
for over four decades (1952–93), rising to the rank of an Under-Secretary-General in 1987. She was the first woman to hold this position.


Early life and education

Anstee was born on 25 June 1926 at 2 Albert Villas,
Writtle Writtle is a village and civil parish west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishing va ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. She was the only child of Edward Curtis Anstee, a printer, and Annie Adaliza, née Mills, a domestic servant. She grew up in
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
, Essex, in rural England. Neither of her parents had finished secondary school, and they encouraged her to complete her education. She was educated at
Chelmsford County High School for Girls Chelmsford County High School for Girls or "CCHS", is a selective grammar school for girls aged 11–18 located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Entrance to the school is by an academic selection test. CCHS is traditionally rated among the most co ...
and
Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...
. She graduated with first class honours in French and Spanish in 1944, although it was another three years before the university began admitting women to full degree status. Anstee went on to continue her studies at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
.


Career

She worked for a year as a university lecturer in Spanish at
Queen's University, Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
. In 1948, Anstee joined the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
where she worked as a third secretary on the Latin American desk. She worked for Donald Maclean prior to his defection. She was engaged to Robin Mackworth-Young briefly but instead married Michael Rotherham Starkey on 5 May 1952. However, due to the Foreign Office's marriage bar policy in force at the time, which required women employees to resign when they married, this ended her career. Anstee accompanied her husband, a fellow British diplomat, to
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.


United Nations

The marriage began to fail while the couple were based in Manila, and so in 1952, she took a position with the United Nations Technical Assistance Board in Manila as an administration officer in order to earn the money for a fare back to England. She and her husband returned to England in 1954 and Anstee worked part-time as a lecturer at Newnham. In 1956, she divorced her husband and rejoined the UN as acting head of the Technical Assistance Board in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
,
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. Anstee served successively as Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in eight countries in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
,
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
. From 1974 to 1987 she occupied senior positions at the UN's New York City headquarters. She was also given major responsibilities in a number of disaster relief operations (
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
1973, Mexican earthquake 1985, Chernobyl nuclear disaster 1991–2,
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
burning oil wells 1991–2) as well as special assignments for the Secretary-General to assist countries in dire economic distress (
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
1982–92,
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
1990–92). In addition, she was involved in the design and implementation of several major reforms of the UN system. She was granted Bolivian citizenship in 1990. Anstee worked on operational programmes of economic and social development in all regions of the world, mostly with the
United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
. From 1987 to 1992 she served as Director-General of the
United Nations Office at Vienna The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) is one of the four major office sites of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. UNOV was established on 1 January 1980, and was the third such complex to be create ...
, Head of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs and Coordinator of all United Nations narcotic drug-control programs. From 1992 to 1993 she was the Secretary-General's Special Representative to
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
; she was the first woman to head a UN peacekeeping mission.


Later career

After leaving the UN in July 1993, she served as a Special Adviser to the government of
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
on matters relating to development and
international finance International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of monetary economics, monetary and macroeconomics, macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. Internation ...
. In 1994 she wrote a report for UNCTAD on the technical cooperation needs of developing countries in the wake of the completion of the
Uruguay Round The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), spanning from 1986 to 1993 and embracing 123 countries as "contracting parties". The ...
and led an
Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...
mission to
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
on socio-economic reform. She wrote and lectured widely on the United Nations, particularly on issues related to development, peacekeeping, and UN reform. From 1996 she advised the Under-Secretary-General of the
United Nations Department of Political Affairs The United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat, Secretariat of the United Nations (UN) with responsibility for monitoring and assessing global political developments ...
, on a ''
pro bono publico ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...
'' basis, on operational aspects of post-conflict peace-building. She also chaired the Advisory Board of the Lessons Learned Unit of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and for some years actively took part in practical training in peacekeeping techniques for both military and civilian personnel, including simulation exercises, in the UK, Sweden, South America and the United States, South Africa and other African countries.


Later life

Anstee established the Margaret Anstee Developing World Fund to assist graduate students at Newnham College with their fieldwork. During the last three years of her life Margaret Anstee arranged to have weekly Welsh lessons in her home in Knill in the
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...
. An essay portraying her by her Welsh tutor won a prize at the
National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...
of Wales in 2019. Anstee died on 25 August 2016 in her home in Knill,
Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
at the age of 90. She left a legacy to found what is now the Margaret Anstee Centre for Global Studies, based at Newnham College.


Honours

In 1991, Anstee was made an Honorary Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1993 she was awarded the Reves Peace Prize by the
College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...
(
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
) and she held Honorary Doctorates in the UK from the Universities of
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
(1994),
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
(1996), London (1998) and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
(2004). In the 1994
New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...
,
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
made her a Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George. She has also been honoured by the governments of
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
and
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. In 2011, Anstee was the inaugural recipient of the UNA – UK’s Sir Brian Urquhart Award for Distinguished Service to the United Nations, awarded in recognition of her contribution to the organisation.


Writings

''Gate of the Sun: a Prospect of Bolivia'' was published in Great Britain by Longman in 1970, and was later published in the United States under the title ''Bolivia: Gate of the Sun'' by Paul S. Eriksson. ''Orphan of the Cold War: the Inside Story of the Collapse of the Angolan Peace Process 1992–1993'', was published in the UK and the US in October 1996. A Portuguese translation was published in April 1997. Her memoirs ''Never Learn to Type: A Woman at the United Nations'' was published in May 2003 by Wiley. In 2009, she published a book ''The House on the Sacred Lake,'' describing her life in Bolivia. Anstee also wrote a biography of John Brande Trend, one of her professors at Cambridge. It was published in 2013 as ''JB — An Unlikely Spanish Don: The Life and Times of Professor John Brande Trend.''


References


External links


Anstee curriculum vitae
*Gibson, James, ''Jacko, Where Are You Now?: A Life of Robert Jackson, Master of Humanitarian Relief, the Man who Saved Malta''. Richmond, UK: Parsons Publishing, 2006. *Jackson, R. G. A., ''A Study of the Capacity of the United Nations Development System. 2 vols'', Geneva: United Nations, 1969. *Mitcham, Chad, Jackson, ''Sir Robert Gillman (1911-1991)'', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/jackson-sir-robert-gillman-20715/text31511, published online 2016, accessed online 5 September 2017.
Portrait at National Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anstee, Margaret 1926 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of London British non-fiction writers British officials of the United Nations Dames Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellows of Newnham College, Cambridge Members of HM Diplomatic Service People educated at Chelmsford County High School for Girls People from Chelmsford People from Writtle 20th-century British diplomats