Jamsheed Marker
Encyclopedia
Jamsheed Kaikobad Ardeshir Marker, HI, (b. 24 November 1922) is a veteran Pakistan
i diplomat
. Reportedly, he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having been ambassador to more countries than any other person. He speaks English
, Urdu
, Gujarati
, French
, German
, and Russian
and was Pakistan's top envoy to the United States
and more than a dozen other countries for more than three decades and earned the distinction as the world's longest-serving ambassador.
) in Quetta. The Doon School
, and from the well known University of Pakistan; Forman Christian College University, Lahore.
's ambassador to Ghana
.
Marker was appointed as Pakistan High Commissioner to Ghana
, with concurrent accreditation to Guinea
and Mali
in April 1965. He has since represented Pakistan in Romania
(conc. accr. to Bulgaria
), the former Soviet Union
(conc. accr. to Finland
) for 3 years, Canada
(conc. accr. to Guyana
and Trinidad and Tobago
), East Germany (conc. accr. to Iceland
), Japan
, United Nations Office at Geneva
, West Germany
, France
, the United States
and finally the United Nations
in New York City
. Marker served as Ambassador of Pakistan continually for thirty years, in ten different capitals, and nine further concurrent accreditation.
He became Ambassador to the United States in 1986 and is said to have helped "negotiate" the Soviet military withdrawal from Afghanistan
. He has also served as United Nations
Under-secretary General, as a special advisor to United Nations ex-Secretary-General Kofi Annan
, and the journalist Susan Taylor praised him for his role in bringing about the resolution of the East Timor
conflict and the independence of that nation. Marker was the U.N. special envoy to East Timor in 1999. Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general, is reported to have hailed Marker's "empathy for both sides in the talks." Reportedly, the Portuguese foreign minister praised Marker's "sophisticated and calm approach" while the Indonesian foreign minister said Marker's "diplomatic skills smoothed the way whenever there was a 'snag in the negotiations.'"
The British journalist, Richard Lloyd Parry
, in his book, In the Time of Madness, recalls Marker's warm words of praise for the Indonesian police and the "superb leadership" of their commander Timbul Silaien after the referendum and its bloody preamble. Within days, these same Indonesian security forces were engaged in the deportation and, in some cases, the killing of East Timorese.
in St. Petersburg, Florida
(where he has been teaching since 1995) and is Eckerd College's diplomat in residence. He usually teaches a course on "Diplomacy in International Relations."
Shaukat Aziz
named Jamsheed Marker as ambassador-at-large for his years of service.
In June 2011, He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Forman Christian College University, Lahore at Commencement of 2011.
. His background is from the Parsi community of Pakistan.
East Timor
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
. Reportedly, he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having been ambassador to more countries than any other person. He speaks English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and was Pakistan's top envoy to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and more than a dozen other countries for more than three decades and earned the distinction as the world's longest-serving ambassador.
Early life
He obtained his early education from Khan Bahadur Ardeshir D. Marker Vernacular School (closed down because of the 1935 earthquake1935 Balochistan earthquake
The 1935 Balochistan Earthquake occurred on May 31, 1935 at 3:02am at Quetta, Balochistan, British India . The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7 Mw and anywhere between 30,000 and 60,000 people died from the impact. This ranks as one of the deadliest earthquakes that hit South Asia...
) in Quetta. The Doon School
The Doon School
The Doon School is an independent school located in Dehradun in the state of Uttarakhand in India. Established in 1935, it was founded by Satish Ranjan Das. Its first Headmaster was Arthur E...
, and from the well known University of Pakistan; Forman Christian College University, Lahore.
Cricket Commentator
He was a radio cricket commentator. His first broadcast was from the Karachi stadium.Diplomat
According to the journalist Susan Taylor, he originally worked in his family's "shipping and pharmaceutical" businesses, and moved into diplomacy in 1965 when he was appointed PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's ambassador to Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
.
Marker was appointed as Pakistan High Commissioner to Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, with concurrent accreditation to Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
in April 1965. He has since represented Pakistan in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(conc. accr. to Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
), the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(conc. accr. to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) for 3 years, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(conc. accr. to Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
and Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
), East Germany (conc. accr. to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
), Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, United Nations Office at Geneva
United Nations Office at Geneva
The United Nations Office at Geneva is the second-largest of the four major office sites of the United Nations...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and finally 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 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Marker served as Ambassador of Pakistan continually for thirty years, in ten different capitals, and nine further concurrent accreditation.
He became Ambassador to the United States in 1986 and is said to have helped "negotiate" the Soviet military withdrawal from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. He has also served as 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...
Under-secretary General, as a special advisor to United Nations ex-Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, and the journalist Susan Taylor praised him for his role in bringing about the resolution of the East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
conflict and the independence of that nation. Marker was the U.N. special envoy to East Timor in 1999. Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general, is reported to have hailed Marker's "empathy for both sides in the talks." Reportedly, the Portuguese foreign minister praised Marker's "sophisticated and calm approach" while the Indonesian foreign minister said Marker's "diplomatic skills smoothed the way whenever there was a 'snag in the negotiations.'"
The British journalist, Richard Lloyd Parry
Richard Lloyd Parry
Richard Lloyd Parry is an award-winning British foreign correspondent. He is the Asia Editor of The Times , based in Tokyo, and is the author of the non-fiction books In the Time of Madness and People Who Eat Darkness The Fate of Lucie Blackman.-Early life:He was born in Southport, Merseyside in...
, in his book, In the Time of Madness, recalls Marker's warm words of praise for the Indonesian police and the "superb leadership" of their commander Timbul Silaien after the referendum and its bloody preamble. Within days, these same Indonesian security forces were engaged in the deportation and, in some cases, the killing of East Timorese.
Teaching
Currently, Marker is teaching international relations for the Spring semester at Eckerd CollegeEckerd College
Eckerd College is a private 4-year coeducational liberal arts college at the southernmost tip of St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.- Campus :...
in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
(where he has been teaching since 1995) and is Eckerd College's diplomat in residence. He usually teaches a course on "Diplomacy in International Relations."
Awards
In September 2004, Pakistani Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz is a world acclaimed Pakistani economist who was the 15th Prime Minister of Pakistan from May 20, 2004 to 15 November 2007 in a joint military government led by General Pervez Musharraf. A Citibank executive, Aziz returned to Pakistan from the United States to be became Finance...
named Jamsheed Marker as ambassador-at-large for his years of service.
In June 2011, He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Forman Christian College University, Lahore at Commencement of 2011.
Family background
Ambassador Marker is the son of Kekobad Ardeshir Marker and Meherbano Pestonji, the grandson of Ardeshir Marker, and the great-nephew of Peshotanji Dossabhai Marker. He currently married to Arnaz Minwalla. He was earlier married to Diana Faridoon Dinshaw (d:1979) with whom he had two daughters, Niloufer and Feroza. His niece is the Pakistani environmentalist, Aban KabrajiAban Marker Kabraji
-Work:As Asia Regional Director of IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Ms. Kabraji provides strategic leadership for IUCN’s work in the 23 countries of the region. In Asia, IUCN has some 350 staff with offices in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indo¬nesia, Lao PDR, Nepal,...
. His background is from the Parsi community of Pakistan.
External links
Interviews and Speeches- PBS Newshour interview after India's nuclear tests; May 26, 1998
- Ambassador Marker addresses AKU students
- Jamsheed Marker talking about his cricket commentator days.
East Timor