Sir John Shaw Rennie was a British civil servant, UNRWA's Commissioner-General from 1971 to 1977.

John Rennie was educated at Hillhead High School

Hillhead High School

Hillhead High School is a day school located in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow.Until 1976 it was a selective school...

, Glasgow University and Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....

. In 1951 Rennie was appointed Britain's deputy colonial secretary for Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

. From 1962 to 1968 he was Governor of Mauritius, overseeing Mauritius' transition to independence. From 1968 to 1971 Rennie was UNRWA deputy Commissioner-General under Laurence Michelmore

Laurence Michelmore

Laurence Michelmore, was UNRWA's Commissioner-General from 1964 to 1971. Michelmore had been senior director of the UN's Technical Assistance Board, deputy director of personnel, and administrative consultant of the UN Special Fund and the Secretary-General's representative on Malaysia.-See also:*...

, who persuaded then-U.N. 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....

 to appoint Rennie as his successor.

See also

• List of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East employees