Sir Roderick (Wallis) Parkes

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

OBE (2 April 1909 – 2 November 1972) was a British diplomat and colonial administrator. After entering the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

in 1932, he served in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

until 1935. From 1935 to 1947 he was in the Indian Political Service, serving as Secretary and later Counsellor at the British Legation,

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

(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 Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

(1949–52), Head of Information Division at

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

(1952–53), Head of Information Services Department, Foreign Office (1953–54), and Counsellor and Chargé d'Affaires at

Djakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

(1954–55) during which tour he reported on the first Afro-Asian Conference in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

. He served as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1955–56) until diplomatic relations were severed as a result of the

Suez crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

, to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

(1957–60) where he exercised influence with

President Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of ...

at the start of the Communist insurgency, and to

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

(1960–61) - an appointment cut short by illness. In 1962 he was seconded to the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rou ...

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 ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, close to his friend and former senior colleague, Sir Ralph Stevenson. The only child of Llywelyn Childs Parkes, registrar to a

joint stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

(and nephew of the inventor

Alexander Parkes Alexander Parkes (29 December 1813 29 June 1890) was a metallurgist and inventor from Birmingham, England. He created Parkesine, the first man-made plastic. Biography The son of a manufacturer of brass locks, Parkes was apprenticed to Messenger ...

), and his wife Sara May née Green, Parkes was educated at St Paul's School and

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. 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 Sir Roderick (Wallis) 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 ...

, is a director at the

German Institute for International and Security Affairs The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (german: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik; SWP) is a German think tank in international relations and security studies. A semi-official organization with close links to the federal gov ...

.SWP eröffnet Büro in Brüsse
Think Tank Directory
May 10, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkes, Roderick Indian Civil Service (British India) officers People educated at St Paul's School, London 1909 births Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 1972 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Vietnam Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sudan Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Jordan Members of HM Diplomatic Service Indian Political Service officers 20th-century British diplomats