Samuel Martin Burke or S. M. Burke (3 July 1906, Martinpur – 9 October 2010)
The Telegraph 17 November 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2015Samuel Martin Burke Obituary
The Guardian 14 November 2010 Retrieved 16 August 2015 was a Pakistani

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, writer and professor. He was also a member of 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 rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

until 15 August 1947, when he became the only Asian to retire.Samuel Martin Burke (1906-2010): Civil Servant, Diplomat, Historian
Pakistaniat 1 December 2010 Retrieved 16 August 2015 After Pakistan's independence, he joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan and was appointed as a counselor at the Pakistani High Commission in London. In 1952, he served as a minister in the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C. In 1953, he became the first Pakistani Christian head of a diplomatic mission when he was appointed Minister to Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

. He also served as chargé d’ affaires in Rio de Janeiro, deputy high commissioner in London, followed by being appointed as Pakistan's ambassador to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, and finally as the High Commissioner to Canada between 1959 and 1961, following which he retired. Upon retirement he became professor at the University of Minnesota from 1961 to 1975. Burke has authored a number of books covering Pakistan's history and foreign policy.

Personal life

Samuel Burke was born in a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

family of twelve brothers and sisters in Martinpur, a village in the

Punjab Province Punjab Province may refer to: * Punjab Province (British India), a former province of British India from 1849 to 1947 In Pakistan * Punjab, Pakistan, a province in Pakistan from 1970 onward * West Punjab, a province of Pakistan from 1947 to 195 ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(now in Pakistan). His sister was the Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

and

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

film actress Chand Burke who appeared in veteran actor

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of ...

's award winning film, '' Boot Polish'' (1954), where she played the pivotal role of

Baby Naaz Salma Baig (20 August 1944 - 19 October 1995) popularly known as Kumari Naaz or Baby Naaz was an Indian actress in Hindi language films. Career She started her career as a child actor in films. Her best remembered role as a child artiste was i ...

and Rattan Kumar's tormenting aunt - thus making him the grand uncle of Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh.

Awards

* Sitara-e-Pakistan by President

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced ...

Books

# Pakistan's Foreign Policy: An Historical Analysis (1973) # Mainsprings of Indian and Pakistani Foreign Policy (1974) # Akbar, the Greatest Mogul (1989) # Bahadur Shah, the Last Mogul Emperor of India (1995) # The British Raj in India: An Historical Review (1995) # Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah: His Personality and his Politics (1997)

References

1906 births 2010 deaths Ambassadors of Pakistan to Thailand High Commissioners of Pakistan to Canada Pakistani centenarians Men centenarians Pakistani Christians Pakistani emigrants to the United States Pakistani expatriates in Brazil Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom 20th-century Pakistani historians University of Minnesota faculty Indian Civil Service (British India) officers {{Pakistan-historian-stub People from Punjab Province (British India)