George Ivan Smith
Encyclopedia
George Ivan Smith AO career spanned radio, war correspondent, movie director, diplomat, poet and author. He was born 11 July 1915 George Charles Ivan Smith in Sydney
, New South Wales
(NSW), Australia
. The first son of George Franklin Smith, a NSW prison governor and May Sullivan.
: children George Ivan Smith 1937 deceased, Antony Ivan Smith (Ivansmith) (1939-2008) and Sharon Morreale 1940. In 1944 he married Mary Stephanie Douglass; stepchildren Penelope Gilliatt
writer (1932-1993), Angela Conner
(1935), sculptor and an adopted daughter Edda Mwakeselo Ivan-Smith 1960, author and Social Development Consultant. He died in 1995 in Stroud, Gloucestershire
.
Ivan Smith is his full last name and not hyphenated, though often he is categorized under the last name Smith.
and then Goulburn High School where his father George Franklin Smith was prison governor at the Goulburn Gaol. After graduation Ivan Smith began work as a cub newspaper journalist for the Sydney Truth.
In 1937 he joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission and managed 2WL a radio station in Wollongong. Later Michael Pate
who began his famous career in 1938, when he joined Ivan Smith writing and broadcasting a program called 'Youth Speaks' for ABC Radio.
In 1939 became he talk’s editor and a founding member of the new overseas short wave broadcasting service, "Australia Calling" (1939-1941) later named Radio Australia
. In 1941 Ivan Smith was seconded to the BBC
Overseas Service in London
, England
where he became Director of the Pacific Service and organised overseas coverage of the Second Front.
In 1945 he joined the J. Arthur Rank
Organisation where he worked as Producer, Editor and Director of This Modern Age
with Sergei Nolbano, a documentary series of films for J. Arthur Rank (1945-1947).
Ivan Smith joined the United Nations
in 1947 and went to New York
as Senior Director of External Affairs to establish the organisation's first international radio programmes for the United Nations Information Services, then at Lake Success
, New York (1947-1949). In 1949 he came to Britain as first director of the London United Nations Information Centre, remaining there until 1958. During that time he was closely associated with Dr. Ralph Bunche
and the Secretary General Trygve Halvdan Lie in developing the 1949 Armistice Agreement that ended the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
.
After Trygve Lie’s resignation in 1952, he acted frequently as spokesman for Dag Hammarskjöld
, who had become secretary-general in 1953. He accompanied him on many missions, including his visit to the Middle East following the Suez crisis
on 1956-57. After which he co-ordinated salvage operations with American salvage companies of the sunken ships that blocked the Suez Canal
.
He was also in charge of press liaison at the Four Powers' summit conference and foreign ministers' meeting in Geneva
in 1955 and worked closely with James Hagerty President Dwight Eisenhower’s press secretary. In 1958 Ivan Smith returned to New York, firstly as Director of the External Relations Division of the UN Office of Public Information and later as Senior Director Public Information of Press and Publications, United Nations, New York.
were kidnapped and beaten by Katangese paratroopers in the presence of US Senator
Thomas Dodd. Senator Dodd was visiting the secessionist leader Moïse Tshombe
and was his strongest supporter in the US Senate. A State Department employee, Lewis Hoffacker, attempted to stop the kidnapping and managed to get Ivan Smith away from his abductors by pulling him from a truck; Senator Dodd was being feted at a private home in Elizabethville at the time. Ivan Smith was able to then contact the commander of the UN Indian forces, Colonel S. S. Maitro and who effected Urquhart’s release shortly afterwards, albeit in badly beaten condition.
Ivan Smith was then appointed the personal Representative of the Secretary General U Thant
in East and Central Africa 1962-1966 as well as the Regional Director of United Nations Technical Assistance Programmes in Central Africa.
In 1964 he delivered the Boyer Lecture for ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) titled “Along the Edge of Peace". 1965 he was nominated for the new post of secretary-general of the Commonwealth but the appointment went to his namesake Arnold Smith of Canada after severe pressure from Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies
over his work in Africa.
and Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1966-1968). After this last tenure he again became Director of United Nations Office London England (1968-1974). During 1967 he also worked for the World Security Trust on the problems of nuclear proliferation and acted as consultant to various international corporations.
In his retirement to Stroud, Gloucestershire he authored Ghosts of Kampala, a biography of Idi Amin and contributed numerous articles and letters to the press to include an obituary of Lord Olivier. He was awarded the Officer the Order of Australia
(AO) by Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom in London on Australia Day
1992 for Service to International Relations.
His collection of photographs, papers and letters were donated to the Bodleian Library
at the University of Oxford
. He was a very close friend of over the years with many individuals he met in the course of his career. Danny Kaye
who would come to London with Jerry Lewis
and appear in special UNICEF performances. He carried on constant communications with friends and associates such as Gareth Evans
, Paul Keating
and Rupert Murdoch
and much earlier his mentor James Joyce
these documents all reside at the Bodleian Library.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(NSW), Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The first son of George Franklin Smith, a NSW prison governor and May Sullivan.
"As a people we are now called Australians because a vast & lonely land has touched us with her differences" George Ivan Smith, 1953'
Personal
In 1935 he married Madeleine LaBarte Oakes (1909-1966) of Maryborough, QueenslandMaryborough, Queensland
Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...
: children George Ivan Smith 1937 deceased, Antony Ivan Smith (Ivansmith) (1939-2008) and Sharon Morreale 1940. In 1944 he married Mary Stephanie Douglass; stepchildren Penelope Gilliatt
Penelope Gilliatt
Penelope Gilliatt was an English novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and film critic....
writer (1932-1993), Angela Conner
Angela Conner
Angela Conner FRBS is a British Sculptor living and working in London. She has exhibited in many countries and has large scale sculptures in public and private collections around the world....
(1935), sculptor and an adopted daughter Edda Mwakeselo Ivan-Smith 1960, author and Social Development Consultant. He died in 1995 in Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
.
Ivan Smith is his full last name and not hyphenated, though often he is categorized under the last name Smith.
Life and career
After education at Bathurst, New South WalesBathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
and then Goulburn High School where his father George Franklin Smith was prison governor at the Goulburn Gaol. After graduation Ivan Smith began work as a cub newspaper journalist for the Sydney Truth.
In 1937 he joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission and managed 2WL a radio station in Wollongong. Later Michael Pate
Michael Pate
Michael Pate was an Australian actor, writer and director.-Early life:He was born Edward John Pate in Drummoyne, Sydney...
who began his famous career in 1938, when he joined Ivan Smith writing and broadcasting a program called 'Youth Speaks' for ABC Radio.
In 1939 became he talk’s editor and a founding member of the new overseas short wave broadcasting service, "Australia Calling" (1939-1941) later named Radio Australia
Radio Australia
Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
. In 1941 Ivan Smith was seconded to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Overseas Service in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he became Director of the Pacific Service and organised overseas coverage of the Second Front.
In 1945 he joined the J. Arthur Rank
J. Arthur Rank
Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank was a British industrialist and film producer, and founder of the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.- Family business :...
Organisation where he worked as Producer, Editor and Director of This Modern Age
This Modern Age
This Modern Age is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film directed by Nick Grinde starring Joan Crawford, Neil Hamilton, Pauline Frederick and Albert Conti...
with Sergei Nolbano, a documentary series of films for J. Arthur Rank (1945-1947).
Ivan Smith joined the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 1947 and went to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
as Senior Director of External Affairs to establish the organisation's first international radio programmes for the United Nations Information Services, then at Lake Success
Lake Success, New York
Lake Success is a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 2,934 at the 2010 census.Lake Success is in the Town of North Hempstead on northwest Long Island. Lake Success was the temporary home of the United Nations from 1946 to 1951, occupying the headquarters of...
, New York (1947-1949). In 1949 he came to Britain as first director of the London United Nations Information Centre, remaining there until 1958. During that time he was closely associated with Dr. Ralph Bunche
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Johnson Bunche or 1904December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize...
and the Secretary General Trygve Halvdan Lie in developing the 1949 Armistice Agreement that ended the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
.
After Trygve Lie’s resignation in 1952, he acted frequently as spokesman for Dag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. An early Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld...
, who had become secretary-general in 1953. He accompanied him on many missions, including his visit to the Middle East following the Suez crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
on 1956-57. After which he co-ordinated salvage operations with American salvage companies of the sunken ships that blocked the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
.
He was also in charge of press liaison at the Four Powers' summit conference and foreign ministers' meeting in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
in 1955 and worked closely with James Hagerty President Dwight Eisenhower’s press secretary. In 1958 Ivan Smith returned to New York, firstly as Director of the External Relations Division of the UN Office of Public Information and later as Senior Director Public Information of Press and Publications, United Nations, New York.
Africa
In 1961 he was appointed United Nations Representative Katanga by Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld. Where he and his colleague Sir Brian UrquhartBrian Urquhart
Sir Brian Urquhart, KCMG, MBE is a former Undersecretary-General of the United Nations. He is also a World War II veteran and an author.-Early life:...
were kidnapped and beaten by Katangese paratroopers in the presence of US Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Thomas Dodd. Senator Dodd was visiting the secessionist leader Moïse Tshombe
Moise Tshombe
Moïse Kapenda Tshombe was a Congolese politician.- Biography :He was the son of a successful Congolese businessman and was born in Musumba, Congo. He received his education from an American missionary school and later trained as an accountant...
and was his strongest supporter in the US Senate. A State Department employee, Lewis Hoffacker, attempted to stop the kidnapping and managed to get Ivan Smith away from his abductors by pulling him from a truck; Senator Dodd was being feted at a private home in Elizabethville at the time. Ivan Smith was able to then contact the commander of the UN Indian forces, Colonel S. S. Maitro and who effected Urquhart’s release shortly afterwards, albeit in badly beaten condition.
Ivan Smith was then appointed the personal Representative of the Secretary General U Thant
U Thant
U Thant was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1961 to 1971. He was chosen for the post when his predecessor, Dag Hammarskjöld, died in September 1961....
in East and Central Africa 1962-1966 as well as the Regional Director of United Nations Technical Assistance Programmes in Central Africa.
In 1964 he delivered the Boyer Lecture for ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) titled “Along the Edge of Peace". 1965 he was nominated for the new post of secretary-general of the Commonwealth but the appointment went to his namesake Arnold Smith of Canada after severe pressure from Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
over his work in Africa.
Later years
In 1966 Ivan Smith returned from Africa to become a visiting Professor Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1966-1968). After this last tenure he again became Director of United Nations Office London England (1968-1974). During 1967 he also worked for the World Security Trust on the problems of nuclear proliferation and acted as consultant to various international corporations.
In his retirement to Stroud, Gloucestershire he authored Ghosts of Kampala, a biography of Idi Amin and contributed numerous articles and letters to the press to include an obituary of Lord Olivier. He was awarded the Officer the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AO) by Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom in London on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
1992 for Service to International Relations.
His collection of photographs, papers and letters were donated to the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He was a very close friend of over the years with many individuals he met in the course of his career. Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
who would come to London with Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
and appear in special UNICEF performances. He carried on constant communications with friends and associates such as Gareth Evans
Gareth Evans (politician)
Gareth John Evans, AO, QC , is a former Australian politician from 1978 to 1999 representing the Australian Labor Party, serving in a number of ministries including Attorney-General and Foreign Minister from 1983 to 1996 in the Hawke and Keating governments. He was president and chief executive...
, Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
and Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
and much earlier his mentor James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
these documents all reside at the Bodleian Library.
Publications
- Poetry London X 1944 Editions Poetry London, page 154. Anthology of The best War Time London Verse.
- Adventure and Discovery 1946 Jonathan Cape Miracle Drugs” page 155
- The Term of his Natural Life: Marcus Clarke, with an Introduction by George Ivan Smith, Collins. 1953.
- Ghosts of Kampala: The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin first published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson (London)(1980.
External links
- Bodleian Library collection of photos, papers and letters of George Ivan Smith
- George Ivan Smith, review "The Apparatus of Repression" and "Consciences of Convenience." Ghosts of Kampala (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980), 113-131, 161-174.
- The Official Opening of Australia Calling (later Radio Australia) on 20 December 1939.
- Interview with Sir Brian Urquhart, Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
- This Modern Age Palestine George Ivan Smith and Sergei Nolbano
- New York Times review This Modern Age Palestine 1946
- Listing of This Modern Age documentaries
- Michael Pate's first contact with George Ivan Smith.
- Wollongong history and founding of radio station 2WL
- Radio Australia: Speech An independent voice for Australia in Asia and the Pacific
- Violence Robert Jackall Class of 1956 Professor of Sociology and Social Thought, Williams College HFG grantee
- Order of Australia recipients.