Sir John Shaw Rennie (12 January 1917 – 12 August 2002) was a British civil servant and the
's Commissioner-General from 1971 to 1977.
[Benjamin N. Schiff, ''Refugees Unto the Third Generation: UN Aid to Palestinians'', (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1995), p. 293.]
Early life
John Rennie was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and educated at
Hillhead High School
Hillhead High School is a day school in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow.
Admissions
It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow.
History
Grammar school
Until 1972 it was a co-educational selectiv ...
,
Glasgow University
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
and
Balliol College, Oxford. In 1951 Rennie was appointed Britain's deputy colonial secretary for
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
.
[RENNIE, Sir John Shaw]
''Who Was Who
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...
'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2010 He was the British
Resident
Resident may refer to:
People and functions
* Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country
* Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training
* Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...
in
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
from 1955 to 1962. 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 (1909 – April 10, 1997) 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 Spec ...
, who persuaded then-U.N. Secretary-General
U Thant
Thant (; ; January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position. He held t ...
to appoint Rennie as his successor.
Around the World
, 3 October 2002
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rennie, John Shaw
1917 births
2002 deaths
Governors of British Mauritius
Governors-General of Mauritius
Colonial Administrative Service officers
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
UNRWA officials
Resident Commissioners of the New Hebrides (United Kingdom)
British officials of the United Nations