Roderick Parkes
Encyclopedia
Sir Roderick Parkes, KCMG, OBE, (2 April 1909-2 November 1972) was a British diplomat and colonial administrator.
After entering the Indian Civil Service in 1932, he served in the Punjab until 1935. From 1935 to 1947 he was in the Indian Political Service
, serving as Secretary and later Counsellor at the British Legation, Kabul (1936–39) and on attachment as Liaison Commissioner (States) at the Food Department of the Government of India (1946–47), in charge of food arrangements for the then Indian States (population 100 million). He entered the Foreign Service in 1948, serving as Counsellor (Information) at Cairo (1949–52), Head of Information Division at Beirut (1952–53), Head of Information Services Department, Foreign Office (1953–54), and Counsellor and Chargé d'Affaires at Djakarta (1954–55) during which tour he reported on the first Afro-Asian Conference
in Bandung.
He served as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1955–56) until diplomatic relations were severed as a result of the Suez crisis, to Vietnam (1957–60) where he exercised influence with President Diem
at the start of the Communist insurgency, and to Sudan (1960–61) - an appointment cut short by illness. In 1962 he was seconded to the Civil Service Commission as Group Chairman, Civil Service Selection Board, and he served as Ambassador to Jordan from 1962 to 1966. Following his retirement in 1966, he lived in Castletown, Isle of Man, close to his friend and former senior colleague, Sir Ralph Stevenson
.
The only child of Llywelyn Childs Parkes, registrar to a joint stock company (and nephew of the inventor Alexander Parkes
), and his wife Sara May née Green, Parkes was educated at St Paul’s School and Magdalen College, Oxford. He married in 1939 Eileen Mary Ernestine (4 May 1915-21 July 1977) daughter of Captain Neville Gardner, and half-sister of the mathematician R.E.A.C. Paley
. They had two sons. His grandson, also called Roderick Parkes, is a director at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs
.
After entering the Indian Civil Service in 1932, he served in the Punjab until 1935. From 1935 to 1947 he was in the Indian Political Service
Indian Political Service
The Indian Political Service was a department of the Indian Civil Service during the British Raj.The political officers assigned to the service - many of whom were British Army and British Indian Army officers on secondment - were responsible for the civil administration of frontier districts, and...
, serving as Secretary and later Counsellor at the British Legation, Kabul (1936–39) and on attachment as Liaison Commissioner (States) at the Food Department of the Government of India (1946–47), in charge of food arrangements for the then Indian States (population 100 million). He entered the Foreign Service in 1948, serving as Counsellor (Information) at Cairo (1949–52), Head of Information Division at Beirut (1952–53), Head of Information Services Department, Foreign Office (1953–54), and Counsellor and Chargé d'Affaires at Djakarta (1954–55) during which tour he reported on the first Afro-Asian Conference
Asian-African Conference
The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference—also known as the Bandung Conference—was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on April 18–24, 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia...
in Bandung.
He served as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1955–56) until diplomatic relations were severed as a result of the Suez crisis, to Vietnam (1957–60) where he exercised influence with President Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
at the start of the Communist insurgency, and to Sudan (1960–61) - an appointment cut short by illness. In 1962 he was seconded to the Civil Service Commission as Group Chairman, Civil Service Selection Board, and he served as Ambassador to Jordan from 1962 to 1966. Following his retirement in 1966, he lived in Castletown, Isle of Man, close to his friend and former senior colleague, Sir Ralph Stevenson
Ralph Stevenson
Sir Ralph Clarmont Skrine Stevenson, GCMG, MLC, CP was a British diplomat.In 1943, he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a post he held until 1946. Stevenson was Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt from 1950 to...
.
The only child of Llywelyn Childs Parkes, registrar to a joint stock company (and nephew of the inventor Alexander Parkes
Alexander Parkes
Alexander Parkes was a metallurgist and inventor from Birmingham, England. He created Parkesine, the first man-made plastic.-Biography:...
), and his wife Sara May née Green, Parkes was educated at St Paul’s School and Magdalen College, Oxford. He married in 1939 Eileen Mary Ernestine (4 May 1915-21 July 1977) daughter of Captain Neville Gardner, and half-sister of the mathematician R.E.A.C. Paley
Raymond Paley
Raymond Edward Alan Christopher Paley was an English mathematician. Paley was born in Bournemouth, England. He was educated at Eton. From there he entered Trinity College, Cambridge where he showed himself the most brilliant student among a remarkable collection of fellow undergraduates...
. They had two sons. His grandson, also called Roderick Parkes, is a director at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs
German Institute for International and Security Affairs
The Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin is a leading German think tank and the founding institution behind the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.- History, Organization and Functions of the SWP :...
.