Mark Malloch Brown
Encyclopedia
George Mark Malloch Brown, Baron Malloch-Brown, KCMG
, PC (born 16 September 1953) is a former Minister of State
in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
of the British government with responsibility for Africa
, Asia
and the United Nations
. He left his role in October 2009 as part of a reshuffle and was succeeded by Glenys Kinnock
.
Previously he was briefly the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
. His term of office at the UN began on 1 April 2006 and ended on 31 December 2006, when he was succeeded by Asha-Rose Migiro
of Tanzania; however, he was quite active in his UN service and cut a high profile while in office. He is a former journalist
, development specialist, and communications consultant. Since 2010 he has served as Chair of the Royal African Society. Following his appointment to government, Malloch Brown was created a life peer
on 9 July 2007 as Baron Malloch-Brown, of St Leonard's Forest in the County of West Sussex
(his title is hyphenated but his surname is not) and took his seat in the House of Lords
that same day.
, and earned a First Class Honours
Degree in History
from Magdalene College, Cambridge
and a Master's Degree in Political Science
from the University of Michigan
. He is an only child, but has four children with his wife.
between 1977 and 1979, and founding editor of the Economist Development Report. Following this he worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
, where he worked for Kofi Annan, and was stationed in Thailand
where he was in charge of field operations for Cambodia
n refugees and supervised the construction of camps at Sa Kaeo
and Khao-I-Dang
. Malloch Brown contemplated running for the SDP
in the 1983 UK General election
but was not selected as a candidate.
In 1986 Malloch Brown joined the Sawyer-Miller Group as the lead international partner. While at Sawyer-Miller he was among the first communication consultants to use US
-style election campaign methods for foreign governments, companies, and public policy debates. His international assignments included work in Chile
, where he advised the opposition in its successful challenge to former dictator Augusto Pinochet
, and in the Philippines
, where he worked with Corazon Aquino
in the campaign against the Ferdinand Marcos
dictatorship. He also worked in Peru
, Colombia
, Venezuela
and Bolivia
.
as Vice-President for External Affairs, which included responsibility for relations with the United Nations
. In 1999, he moved back to the United Nations where he was appointed Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) by the recently elected Kofi Annan.
Internally at UNDP, which was facing increased competition from the World Bank in its areas of responsibility such as capacity building, governance and emergency recovery, he tried to re orient UNDP's activities (sometimes controversially), because of competition with other UN agencies who were also adapting to the demands of a globalizing world. Compared with his predecessor, he improved resource mobilisation from donor countries. Perhaps most importantly, he claims he was one of the key architects of the Millennium Development Goals
which were adopted at the UN Millennium Summit
in December 2000. In January 2005 he was appointed Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
, retaining his position as Administrator of UNDP until the appointment of his successor.
as United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
on 1 April 2006. He was the second person to hold this post in the UN's history. As the appointment is made by the UN Secretary-General and not the UN General Assembly
, Malloch Brown's term of office ended with the completion of Kofi Annan's term at the end of 2006.
. Working for Refugees International
, he was part of the Soros Advisory Committee on Bosnia in 1993-94, formed by George Soros
. He has since kept cordial relations with Soros, and rented an apartment owned by Soros while working in New York on UN assignments. In May 2007, Soros' Quantum Fund announced the appointment of Sir Mark as vice president. In September 2007, The Observer
revealed that he had resigned this position on becoming a government minister in the UK. Also in May 2007, Malloch Brown was named vice chairman of Soros Fund Management
and the Open Society Institute
, two other important Soros organizations.
by the UN in general, and Kofi Annan in particular. While he countered critics that "Not a penny was lost from the organization," an internal UN audit of the Oil-for-Food programme revealed that there had been overcompensation amounting to $557 million. A separate audit of UN peacekeeping procurement concluded that at least $310 million from a budget of $1.6 billion could not be accounted for.
Malloch Brown, briefing the Security Council, argued that, while the situation uncovered by the audit was "alarming", and that nearly $300 million out of a $1.6 billion budget was involved, it showed more that there was significant waste with only narrow instances of fraud. He noted that the UN Secretariat, based on the reservations expressed by the department being audited, did not entirely accept the auditor's conclusions.
, he criticised the United States administration for allowing "too much unchecked UN-bashing and stereotyping". He stated that much of the political dialogue in the US about the UN had been abdicated to its most strident critics, such as conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh
and the Fox News cable channel and, as a result of this, the true role and value of the UN has become "a mystery in Middle America". These remarks resulted in a backlash from the White House and some US conservative commentators, culminating in a call for an apology by the US envoy to the United Nations John Bolton
. Bolton added to reporters, "I spoke to the secretary-general this morning, I said "I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior U.N. official that I have seen in that entire time."
John Podesta
and Richard C. Leone wrote that Bolton's comment "distorted Mr. Malloch Brown’s remarks by calling them an attack on 'the American people', and ... by conflating Rush Limbaugh and Fox News with the American people. ...
Mr. Malloch Brown had to break with the niceties of diplomatic tradition to plead for such leadership. ... Mr. Malloch Brown is surely correct: the people of the United States deserve better leadership and diplomacy to represent their interests in the world’s most important international body." Malloch Brown himself rejected the need to apologise, and received the support of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said that his deputy's comments "should be read in the right spirit".
In July 2006, during the Israel-Hezbollah
crisis in Lebanon, Malloch Brown said America should allow others to "share the lead" in solving the Lebanon crisis, and also advised that Britain adopt a lower profile in solving the crisis, lest the international community see the negotiations as being led by the same team that instigated the invasion of Iraq. These comments again drew criticism from some American officials, including the US State Department
, a spokesman from which stated "We are seeing a troubling pattern of a high official of the UN who seems to be making it his business to criticize member states and, frankly, with misplaced and misguided criticisms."
Malloch Brown responded in an interview with PBS
:
When Bolton later announced his own resignation in early December, Malloch Brown made his delight clear, telling reporters "No comment — and you can say he said it with a smile".
and announced plans to focus on writing a book on changing leadership in a globalized world while in residence during the spring semester.
Malloch Brown was knighted in the British New Year Honours 2007
.
His book The Unfinished Global Revolution came out early 2011 on Penguin Press.
Gordon Brown
as Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO
) with responsibility for Africa
, Asia
and the United Nations
. It was also announced that Malloch Brown would receive a peerage to enable him to sit in the House of Lords; he was also appointed to the Privy Council
. Plans for his appointment and peerage had been leaked to The Observer
s Pendennis column in November 2006.
Following the decision by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
(SCCRC) to refer the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi back for a second appeal against conviction, Dr Hans Köchler
, UN
-appointed international observer at the Lockerbie trial
, wrote on 4 July 2007 to Malloch Brown reiterating his call for a "full and independent public inquiry of the Lockerbie case". Köchler addressed the letter also to First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond
, Foreign Secretary, David Miliband
and Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith
.
In November 2007, the conservative British magazine The Spectator
drew some attention with its criticism of the Malloch Brown family's occupancy of a government-owned, so-called "grace and favour" apartment in London, previously used by the former Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott
. On November 18, 2007 The Sunday Times
fuelled the controversy by reporting that "some see the hand of Miliband
behind the savaging of Malloch Brown in The Spectator".
On 7 July 2009, Lord Malloch Brown announced he was stepping down from his position as Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the United Nations at the end of July 2009, citing personal and family reasons.
in September 2010. His book The Unfinished Global Revolution: The Pursuit of a New International Politics was published in 2011.
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Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, PC (born 16 September 1953) is a former Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
of the British government with responsibility for Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and 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...
. He left his role in October 2009 as part of a reshuffle and was succeeded by Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Elizabeth Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock and Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead is a British politician....
.
Previously he was briefly the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations is an office created to handle many of the administrative responsibilities, help manage Secretariat operations, and ensure coherence of activities and programmes. The post was formally established by the General Assembly at the end of 1997...
. His term of office at the UN began on 1 April 2006 and ended on 31 December 2006, when he was succeeded by Asha-Rose Migiro
Asha-Rose Migiro
Asha-Rose Mtengeti Migiro is a Tanzanian lawyer and politician. On January 5, 2007, she was named as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. She was formally appointed and assumed office on February 1. She is married to Cleophas Migiro, and the couple has two daughters...
of Tanzania; however, he was quite active in his UN service and cut a high profile while in office. He is a former journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, development specialist, and communications consultant. Since 2010 he has served as Chair of the Royal African Society. Following his appointment to government, Malloch Brown was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
on 9 July 2007 as Baron Malloch-Brown, of St Leonard's Forest in the County of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
(his title is hyphenated but his surname is not) and took his seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
that same day.
Early life and education
Malloch Brown grew up in the United Kingdom, the son of a former South African diplomat. He was educated at Marlborough CollegeMarlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, and earned a First Class Honours
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
Degree in History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
from Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
and a Master's Degree in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. He is an only child, but has four children with his wife.
Early career
He was the political correspondent at The EconomistThe Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
between 1977 and 1979, and founding editor of the Economist Development Report. Following this he worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
, where he worked for Kofi Annan, and was stationed in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
where he was in charge of field operations for Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n refugees and supervised the construction of camps at Sa Kaeo
Sa Kaeo
Sa Kaeo is a town in Thailand, located about 30 miles from the Thai-Cambodian border. It is the capital of the Sa Kaeo Province and the Sa Kaeo district. As of 2005, it has a population of 16,591. The town covers part of the tambon Sa Kaeo and Tha Kasem within the Sa Kaeo district.In 1979-80 Sa...
and Khao-I-Dang
Khao-I-Dang
Khao-I-Dang Holding Center was a Cambodian refugee camp located 20 km north of Aranyaprathet in Prachinburi Province of Thailand...
. Malloch Brown contemplated running for the SDP
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
in the 1983 UK General election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
but was not selected as a candidate.
In 1986 Malloch Brown joined the Sawyer-Miller Group as the lead international partner. While at Sawyer-Miller he was among the first communication consultants to use US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-style election campaign methods for foreign governments, companies, and public policy debates. His international assignments included work in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, where he advised the opposition in its successful challenge to former dictator Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
, and in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, where he worked with Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
in the campaign against the Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
dictatorship. He also worked in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
World Bank and United Nations
In 1994 Malloch Brown joined the World BankWorld Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
as Vice-President for External Affairs, which included responsibility for relations with 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 1999, he moved back to the United Nations where he was appointed Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
(UNDP) by the recently elected Kofi Annan.
Internally at UNDP, which was facing increased competition from the World Bank in its areas of responsibility such as capacity building, governance and emergency recovery, he tried to re orient UNDP's activities (sometimes controversially), because of competition with other UN agencies who were also adapting to the demands of a globalizing world. Compared with his predecessor, he improved resource mobilisation from donor countries. Perhaps most importantly, he claims he was one of the key architects of the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
which were adopted at the UN Millennium Summit
Millennium Summit
The Millennium Summit was a meeting among many world leaders lasting three days from 6 September to 8 September 2000 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Its purpose was to discuss the role of the United Nations at the turn of the 21st century. At this meeting, world leaders...
in December 2000. In January 2005 he was appointed Chef de Cabinet to UN 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...
, retaining his position as Administrator of UNDP until the appointment of his successor.
Deputy Secretary-General
On 3 March 2006 it was announced that Malloch Brown would succeed Louise FréchetteLouise Fréchette
Louise Fréchette, OC was United Nations Deputy Secretary-General for eight years, and a long-time Canadian diplomat and public servant...
as United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations is an office created to handle many of the administrative responsibilities, help manage Secretariat operations, and ensure coherence of activities and programmes. The post was formally established by the General Assembly at the end of 1997...
on 1 April 2006. He was the second person to hold this post in the UN's history. As the appointment is made by the UN Secretary-General and not the UN General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, Malloch Brown's term of office ended with the completion of Kofi Annan's term at the end of 2006.
Association with George Soros
Malloch Brown has been closely associated with billionaire speculator George SorosGeorge Soros
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
. Working for Refugees International
Refugees International
Refugees International is a humanitarian organization supporting refugees and stateless people. It publishes annual reports, as well as approximately twenty-five field reports throughout the year on refugee issues, as well as comments on international aid issues around the world...
, he was part of the Soros Advisory Committee on Bosnia in 1993-94, formed by George Soros
George Soros
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
. He has since kept cordial relations with Soros, and rented an apartment owned by Soros while working in New York on UN assignments. In May 2007, Soros' Quantum Fund announced the appointment of Sir Mark as vice president. In September 2007, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
revealed that he had resigned this position on becoming a government minister in the UK. Also in May 2007, Malloch Brown was named vice chairman of Soros Fund Management
Soros Fund Management
Soros Fund Management LLC is an American, privately held, hedge fund management firm founded in 1969 by George Soros. In 2010 it was reported to be one of the most profitable firms in the hedge fund industry, averaging a 20% annual rate of return over four decades.-Overview:Soros Fund Management...
and the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
, two other important Soros organizations.
Oil for food
Malloch Brown publicly defended handling of the Oil-for-Food ProgrammeOil-for-Food Programme
The Oil-for-Food Programme , established by the United Nations in 1995 was established with the stated intent to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military...
by the UN in general, and Kofi Annan in particular. While he countered critics that "Not a penny was lost from the organization," an internal UN audit of the Oil-for-Food programme revealed that there had been overcompensation amounting to $557 million. A separate audit of UN peacekeeping procurement concluded that at least $310 million from a budget of $1.6 billion could not be accounted for.
Malloch Brown, briefing the Security Council, argued that, while the situation uncovered by the audit was "alarming", and that nearly $300 million out of a $1.6 billion budget was involved, it showed more that there was significant waste with only narrow instances of fraud. He noted that the UN Secretariat, based on the reservations expressed by the department being audited, did not entirely accept the auditor's conclusions.
Criticisms of the George W. Bush administration
On 6 June 2006, while addressing a conference in New YorkNew 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...
, he criticised the United States administration for allowing "too much unchecked UN-bashing and stereotyping". He stated that much of the political dialogue in the US about the UN had been abdicated to its most strident critics, such as conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
and the Fox News cable channel and, as a result of this, the true role and value of the UN has become "a mystery in Middle America". These remarks resulted in a backlash from the White House and some US conservative commentators, culminating in a call for an apology by the US envoy to the United Nations John Bolton
John R. Bolton
John Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
. Bolton added to reporters, "I spoke to the secretary-general this morning, I said "I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior U.N. official that I have seen in that entire time."
John Podesta
John Podesta
John David Podesta was the fourth and final White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton, from 1998 until 2001. He is the president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., and is also a Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law...
and Richard C. Leone wrote that Bolton's comment "distorted Mr. Malloch Brown’s remarks by calling them an attack on 'the American people', and ... by conflating Rush Limbaugh and Fox News with the American people. ...
Mr. Malloch Brown had to break with the niceties of diplomatic tradition to plead for such leadership. ... Mr. Malloch Brown is surely correct: the people of the United States deserve better leadership and diplomacy to represent their interests in the world’s most important international body." Malloch Brown himself rejected the need to apologise, and received the support of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said that his deputy's comments "should be read in the right spirit".
In July 2006, during the Israel-Hezbollah
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War #Other uses|Tammūz]]) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. The principal parties were Hezbollah...
crisis in Lebanon, Malloch Brown said America should allow others to "share the lead" in solving the Lebanon crisis, and also advised that Britain adopt a lower profile in solving the crisis, lest the international community see the negotiations as being led by the same team that instigated the invasion of Iraq. These comments again drew criticism from some American officials, including the US State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, a spokesman from which stated "We are seeing a troubling pattern of a high official of the UN who seems to be making it his business to criticize member states and, frankly, with misplaced and misguided criticisms."
Malloch Brown responded in an interview with PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
:
- "I don't think the US has anything to object to in the comments. I was really in fact in the interview calling for the US to reach out to FranceFranceThe 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...
and others to make sure it was demonstrating a broad multilateral coalition and within a single news cycle of my calling for that, it was doing it." He added "I may be prophetic but I wasn't critical".
When Bolton later announced his own resignation in early December, Malloch Brown made his delight clear, telling reporters "No comment — and you can say he said it with a smile".
After the United Nations
On 15 December 2006, he was named a visiting fellow at the Yale Center for the Study of GlobalizationYale Center for the Study of Globalization
The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, or YCSG, is a research center at Yale University at New Haven, Connecticut. It was launched in 2001 in order to 'enrich the debate about globalization on campus and to promote the flow of ideas between Yale and the policy world.'The current director...
and announced plans to focus on writing a book on changing leadership in a globalized world while in residence during the spring semester.
Malloch Brown was knighted in the British New Year Honours 2007
New Year Honours 2007
The New Year Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 30 December 2006, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2007....
.
His book The Unfinished Global Revolution came out early 2011 on Penguin Press.
UK Minister
On 27 June 2007 it was announced that Malloch Brown was joining the Government of incoming Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
as Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
(FCO
FCO
FCO may mean:*Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs*Ferro Carril Oeste, a football club of Buenos Aires and the eponymous railway*Financial Control Officer, a controller...
) with responsibility for Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and 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...
. It was also announced that Malloch Brown would receive a peerage to enable him to sit in the House of Lords; he was also appointed to the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
. Plans for his appointment and peerage had been leaked to The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
s Pendennis column in November 2006.
Following the decision by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is a non-departmental public body in Scotland, established by the Criminal Procedure Act 1995 ....
(SCCRC) to refer the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi back for a second appeal against conviction, Dr Hans Köchler
Hans Köchler
Hans Köchler is a professor of philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and president of the International Progress Organization, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations...
, UN
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...
-appointed international observer at the Lockerbie trial
Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988...
, wrote on 4 July 2007 to Malloch Brown reiterating his call for a "full and independent public inquiry of the Lockerbie case". Köchler addressed the letter also to First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
, Foreign Secretary, David Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
and Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
.
In November 2007, the conservative British magazine The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
drew some attention with its criticism of the Malloch Brown family's occupancy of a government-owned, so-called "grace and favour" apartment in London, previously used by the former Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
. On November 18, 2007 The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
fuelled the controversy by reporting that "some see the hand of Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
behind the savaging of Malloch Brown in The Spectator".
On 7 July 2009, Lord Malloch Brown announced he was stepping down from his position as Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the United Nations at the end of July 2009, citing personal and family reasons.
Post-ministerial career
Malloch Brown was appointed chairman of global affairs for FTI ConsultingFTI Consulting
FTI Consulting is a global business advisory firm specializing in restructuring and forensic accounting. Its advisory services are divided into five main practice areas - Corporate Finance, Economic Consulting, Forensic and Litigation Consulting, Technology and Strategic Communications....
in September 2010. His book The Unfinished Global Revolution: The Pursuit of a New International Politics was published in 2011.
Styles and honours
- Mr Mark Malloch Brown (1953–2006)
- Sir Mark Malloch Brown KCMG (December 2006-July 2007)
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Malloch-Brown KCMG, PC (July 2007-)
- Eminent member of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation
- Honorary Patron, University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
.
External links
- former Deputy-Secretary-General profile
- former UNDP Administrator profile
- The Guardian, "UN appoints Briton as new chief of staff" 4 January 2004
- The Times, "British aide heads Annan reshuffle at UN", 4 January 2004
- UN Television - "World Chronicle: Microfinance" transcript of a half-hour interview with UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown on 20 December 2004
- NY Sound Posse - "The Best Hope for Peace in Darfur", recorded 19 April 2006 at The New York Society for Ethical Culture mp3 format
- UN News Centre - "Deputy Secretary-General calls for stepped-up US engagement with UN" reports 6 June 2006 speech, followed by "Annan backs deputy’s call for greater US engagement with UN" on 7 June 2006 with transcript of 6 June 2006 speech and transcript of Ambassador John Bolton's reply
- The Times, "Apologise or we'll cut your funding, US envoy tells UN" 9 June 2006
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