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Patsy Blair Robertson (28 August 1933 – 18 August 2020) was a Jamaican journalist and diplomat, who was Director of Information at the
Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...
and the Official Spokesperson for
The Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
from 1983 to 1994. She played a significant role in conjunction with Sir Shridath "Sonny" Ramphal, the Commonwealth's second
Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
, in that organisation's long battle against
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in South Africa. She later served with
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
, the UN, and as founding Chair of the Ramphal Institute, a London-based not-for-profit organization with a mission to advance knowledge and research in such areas of policy as development, education and environmental issues.


Career

Patsy Robertson (''née'' Pyne) was born in the
Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...
district of
Saint Elizabeth Parish Saint Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the widest on the island. History Saint Elizabet ...
, Jamaica, the fifth child of eight. In 1945, she won a coveted scholarship to attend Wolmer's Girls' School in Kingston (where her sisters Kathleen and
Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...
were also educated). She worked briefly as a newspaper journalist in Jamaica before going to the US and attending
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
(where her circle included
James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...
), graduating with a liberal arts degree. In the late 1950s she travelled to Britain; in an interview in 2000 she said: "I got a job at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
... working in the newsroom of the
World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
at
Bush House Bush House is a Grade II listed building at the southern end of Kingsway between Aldwych and the Strand in London. It was conceived as a major new trade centre by American industrialist Irving T. Bush, and commissioned, designed, funded, a ...
where they prepared the news bulletins. And from there, I joined the London office of the Federal Government of the West Indies which had begun to recruit staff for the proposed diplomatic service when independence was given to this new Caribbean nation. ... then the
Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
broke up and Jamaica became independent in 1962. I was sent for training at the then
Commonwealth Relations Office The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Commo ...
and remained in London.". Reproduced on the Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives Committee ''Forward to Freedom'' project website During the 1960s she was involved with the
anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...
, and having left the Jamaican diplomatic service she joined the
Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...
on its establishment in 1965, and for the next 28 years handled its media affairs, disseminating information about the Commonwealth worldwide. She was present at the 1978 conference of Commonwealth non-governmental organisations in
Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
, that led to the foundation of the Commonwealth Journalists' Association, and would remain, in the words of
Lord Black of Brentwood Guy Vaughan Black, Baron Black of Brentwood (born 6 August 1964) was executive director of the Telegraph Media Group from 2005 to 2018 and since 2018 has been Deputy Chairman of the Group. He is a Conservative life peer member of the House of ...
, chairman of the CPU Media Trust, "throughout her lifetime and her distinguished career, a doughty champion of press freedom". She served as the Secretariat's Director of Information and the Official Spokesperson for The Commonwealth at international conventions, including Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings, from 1983 to 1994. As described by
Victoria Brittain Victoria Brittain (born 1942) is a British journalist and author who lived and worked for many years in Africa, the US, and Asia, including 20 years at ''The Guardian'', where she eventually became associate foreign editor. In the 1980s, she wor ...
in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Robertson was "a prominent figure in the historic turning of the tide against
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
's support for apartheid South Africa by the Commonwealth leadership, headed by Sir Shridath (Sonny) Ramphal." According to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'': "Sir Shridath 'Sonny' Ramphal, the Commonwealth's second secretary-general, was the public face of that organisation's long battle against
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in South Africa and Britain’s refusal to join it. Scarcely less important, however, was Patsy Robertson, the Jamaican official behind Sir Sonny, who for nearly three decades used her role as the Commonwealth's spokeswoman to foment international opposition to South Africa's pernicious regime, and to challenge Britain's assertion that it could be reformed, not destroyed." As characterised by
Marina Salandy-Brown Marina Salandy-Brown FRSA, Hon. FRSL, is a Trinidadian journalist, broadcaster and cultural activist. She was formerly an editor and Senior Manager in Radio and News and Current Affairs programmes with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) i ...
, "It was a war of attrition, led by Patsy behind the scenes, in which we journalists all had a small part to play." After Robertson left the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1994, she joined the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(UN) in the role of senior media adviser to the Secretary-General of the
Fourth World Conference on Women The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. At this conference, governments from around the ...
held in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China, in 1995, returning to the UN to fill the same role for the Beijing +5 conference in New York in 2000, and for the General Assembly Special Session on Children in 2001 and 2002. In 2007 she was appointed chair of the Ramphal Institute – which was founded as the Ramphal Centre for Commonwealth Policy Studies and formally launched at
Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It was built in 1711 for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marl ...
in 2008 at a celebration to mark the 80th birthday of Sir Shridath Ramphal,
Commonwealth Secretary-General The Commonwealth secretary-general is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commo ...
from 1975 to 1990 – a post she would hold until the time of her death. She was also Chair of Widows Rights International and the Commonwealth Association, and a trustee of several charities including the Thomson Foundation, the
Commonwealth Press Union The Commonwealth Press Union (CPU), formerly the Empire Press Union, was an association composed of 750 members in 49 countries, including newspaper groups (with several hundred newspapers), individual newspapers, and news agencies throughout the Co ...
and the
British Empire and Commonwealth Museum The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum () was a museum in Bristol, England, exploring the history of the British Empire and the effect of British colonial rule on the rest of the world. The museum opened in 2002 and entered voluntary liquid ...
and, additionally, she was a founder member and President of the Friends of the Georgian Society of Jamaica, a small charity founded in 1994 by her friend Pamela Beshoff, dedicated to "the noble task of preserving Jamaica's history and heritage" by conserving and promoting awareness of the island's historic structures. In 2015 the Policy Institute at
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
announced her appointment as a Visiting Professor. Honours and recognition that she received include a Nexus Commonwealth Award in 2013 for her Outstanding Contribution, "presented to an individual who has demonstrated long and tireless service to one or more Commonwealth institutions". According to former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief
Emeka Anyaoku Chief Emeka Anyaoku, GCVO, CFR, CON (born 18 January 1933)"Anyaoku, Eleazar Chukwuemeka", in ''Africa Who's Who'', London: Africa Journal for Africa Books Ltd, 1981, p. 137. is a Nigerian diplomat of Igbo descent. He was the third Commonwea ...
, Patsy Robertson was "a true symbol of the modern Commonwealth who served the organization with passion and unflinching dedication", who worked "with singular fervor to support its structures, and who never minced words in criticizing actions or pronouncements by governments that she perceived as undermining the principles and values that animate the modern Commonwealth."


Personal life

She was married to Calum Robertson, who predeceased her. She had three children: John, Sarah and Neil.


References


External links


"Special Announcement"
– Tributes to Patsy Robertson at the Ramphal Institute. * * Richard Bourne (24 August 2020)
"Patsy Robertson, The Dedicated Link Between Journalists And The Commonwealth"
''CJA News'', Commonwealth Journalists' Association. * Editorial (5 September 2020)
"Patsy Robertson – A Doyen Of Diplomacy And Press Freedom"
''The Gleaner''.
"JAMAICAN TO THE BONE, PATSY BLAIR ROBERTSON: JOURNALIST, INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANT AND JAMAICAN PATRIOT"
''Jamaica Global'', 10 September 2020. * Richard Bernal (14 September 2020)
"If ever someone deserved to be honoured by Jamaica, it's Patsy Robertson"
''
Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...
''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Patsy 1933 births 2020 deaths Jamaican journalists Jamaican women journalists Jamaican women diplomats New York University alumni People from Saint Elizabeth Parish British people of Jamaican descent Anti-apartheid activists 20th-century journalists