Sir Robert Gillman Allen Jackson, (8 November 1911 – 12 January 1991) was an Australian naval officer, public servant and United Nations administrator who specialised in technical and logistical assistance to the developing world.

Early life

Jackson was born Wilbur Kenneth Jackson in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria, on 8 November 1911. He was educated at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

High School and Mentone Grammar School, which his father Archibald Jackson had helped found, but his father's death meant he did not go to university and started his career in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

at 18.

Career

Jackson was seconded to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1938 and proved his ability in his plans for defending

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

, for which he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. In 1941, he was appointed principal adviser to Oliver Lyttleton, War Cabinet minister in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, and his work with the Middle East Supply Centre encouraging local food production across many countries fostered his diplomatic and administrative skills. After the war, Jackson was responsible for the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, pronounced ) was an international relief agency founded in November 1943 on the joint initiative of the United States, United Kingdom, USSR, and the Republic of China. Its purpose ...

(UNRRA) projects in Europe, parts of Africa and the Far East, "the biggest UN relief operation ever". Next he was assistant to

Trygve Lie Trygve Halvdan Lie ( , ; 16 July 1896 – 30 December 1968) was a Norwegians, Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian foreign minister during the critical years of the Nygaardsvold's Cabinet, N ...

, first secretary-general of the UN, with whom he had an awkward working relationship, and then returned to the United Kingdom to work at the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

before moving to the Australian Ministry of National Development. Jackson came to specialise in multiple purpose river development schemes, and his obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' said "he was associated with virtually all major undertakings of this kind in the developing world". While working on the Volta project in

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 ...

from 1953 to 1960, he got to know

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 ...

. His time in Ghana led to the awards of

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in 1956, and

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in 1962. From the 1950s onward, he advised the governments of India and Pakistan, and in 1962 he went to the UN as consultant to Paul Hoffman of 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 ...

(UNDP), advising on technical, logistical and pre-investment aid to developing countries. By 1971, he had helped with UNDP projects in 60 countries. The "Jackson Report" or "Capacity Study" on UN reform was published in 1969, urging that UN projects should be harmonised with a country's own development plan, and provoking some controversy.

Margaret Anstee Dame Margaret Joan Anstee, (25 June 1926 – 25 August 2016) was a British diplomat who served at the United Nations for over four decades (1952–93), rising to the rank of an Under-Secretary-General in 1987. She was the first woman to hold ...

, another UN administrator, collaborated with him on this report. They became close personally as well as professionally, and their relationship continued until Jackson's death on 12 January 1991. Jackson's last major operations were co-ordinating relief for

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 ...

between 1972 and 1975, and assistance for

Kampuchea Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline along the Gulf of Thail ...

and Kampuchean refugees in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

between 1979 and 1984. He was made a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1986. Jackson has been called a "master of logistics" with his work in Malta, UNRRA, and Bangladesh given particular praise.

Personal life

Jackson married

Barbara Ward Barbara Mary Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, (23 May 1914 – 31 May 1981) was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries. She urged Western governments to share their prosperity with the rest of t ...

in 1950, after his first marriage had ended. They had a son in 1956, but were legally separated in the early 1970s. Jackson died in London on 12 January 1991 of a stroke.

References

External links

Truman Library oral history – memories of Jackson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Robert (UN administrator) 1911 births 1991 deaths Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Order of the White Lion Public servants from Melbourne Australian officials of the United Nations People educated at Mentone Grammar School Spouses of life peers Military personnel from Melbourne

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links