Sir Roderick (Wallis) Parkes KCMG

OBE 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 ...

(2 April 1909 – 2 November 1972) was a British diplomat and colonial administrator. After entering the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

in 1932, he served in the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

until 1935. From 1935 to 1947 he was in the

Indian Political Service The Indian Political Department, formerly part of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India, was a government department in British India. The department looked after the diplomatic and "political" relations with the subs ...

, serving as Secretary and later Counsellor at the British Legation,

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

(1936–39) and on attachment as Liaison Commissioner (States) at the Food Department of the Government of India (1946–47), in charge of food arrangements for the then Indian States (population 100 million). He entered the Foreign Service in 1948, serving as Counsellor (Information) at

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 ...

(1949–52), Head of Information Division at

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

(1952–53), Head of Information Services Department, Foreign Office (1953–54), and Counsellor and Chargé d'Affaires at

Djakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and an autonomous region at the provincial leve ...

(1954–55) during which tour he reported on the first Afro-Asian Conference in

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

. He served as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1955–56) until diplomatic relations were severed as a result of the

Suez crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

, to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

(1957–60) where he exercised influence with President Diem at the start of the Communist insurgency, and to

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

(1960–61) - an appointment cut short by illness. In 1962 he was seconded to the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission (also known as a Public Service Commission) is a government agency or public body that is established by the constitution, or by the legislature, to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, overse ...

as Group Chairman, Civil Service Selection Board, and he served as Ambassador to Jordan from 1962 to 1966. Following his retirement in 1966, he lived in Castletown,

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, close to his friend and former senior colleague, Sir Ralph Stevenson. The only child of Llywelyn Childs Parkes, registrar to a

joint stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certifi ...

(and nephew of the inventor

Alexander Parkes Alexander Parkes (29 December 1813 29 June 1890) was a metallurgist and inventor from Birmingham, England. He created Parkesine, the first man-made plastic. Biography The son of a manufacturer of brass locks, Parkes was apprenticed to Messen ...

), and his wife Sara May née Green, Parkes was educated at St Paul's School and

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He married in 1939 Eileen Mary Ernestine (4 May 1915 – 21 July 1977) daughter of Captain Neville Gardner, and half-sister of the mathematician R. E. A. C. Paley. They had two sons. His grandson, also called Roderick Parkes, is a director at the

German Institute for International and Security Affairs The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (; SWP) is a German think tank in international relations and security studies. A semi-official organization with close links to the federal government, it advises the Bundestag (the ...

.SWP eröffnet Büro in Brüsse
Think Tank Directory
May 10, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkes, Roderick Indian Civil Service (British India) officers People educated at St Paul's School, London 1909 births Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 1972 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Vietnam Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sudan Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Jordan Members of HM Diplomatic Service Indian Political Service officers 20th-century British diplomats Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire Knights_Commander_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George