John Shaw Rennie

Sir
John Shaw Rennie
GCMG OBE
Portrait by Walter Bird, 1962
Commissioner-General for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
In office
April 1971 – 1977
Preceded byLaurence Michelmore
Succeeded byThomas McElhiney
1st Governor-General of Mauritius
In office
12 March 1968 – 3 September 1968
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterSeewoosagur Ramgoolam
Preceded byPost created;
Himself as governor
Succeeded byMichel Rivalland (acting)
Governor of Mauritius
In office
17 September 1962 – 12 March 1968
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded byColville Deverell
Succeeded byPost abolished;
Himself as governor-general
7th Resident Commissioner of the New Hebrides
In office
1955–1962
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded byHubert Flaxman
Succeeded byAlexander Mair Wilkie
Personal details
Born(1917-01-12)12 January 1917
Glasgow, Scotland
Died12 August 2002(2002-08-12) (aged 85)
London, England
Spouse
Winifred McAlpine Robertson
​
​
(m. 1946)​
Children1

Sir John Shaw Rennie GCMG OBE (12 January 1917 – 12 August 2002)[1] was a British civil servant. He was Commissioner-General for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from 1971 to 1977.[2]

Biography

John Rennie was born in Glasgow and educated at Hillhead High School, Glasgow University and Balliol College, Oxford. In 1951 Rennie was appointed Britain's deputy colonial secretary for Mauritius.[3] He was the British Resident in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) from 1955 to 1962.[4]

From 1962 to 1968, he was Governor of Mauritius, overseeing Mauritius's transition to independence, including initiating discussions with Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the Mauritian premier, over the detachment of the Chagos Islands from Mauritian territory.[5]

From 1968 to 1971, Rennie was UNRWA deputy commissioner-general under Laurence Michelmore, who persuaded the then UN secretary-general U Thant to appoint Rennie as his successor.[6]

Rennie married Winifred McAlpine Robertson on 26 February 1946. The couple had one son.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Sir John Rennie". The Telegraph. 8 October 2002. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  2. ^ Benjamin N. Schiff, Refugees Unto the Third Generation: UN Aid to Palestinians, (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1995), p. 293.
  3. ^ "Rennie, Sir John Shaw, (12 Jan. 1917–12 Aug. 2002), Commissioner-General, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, 1971–77 (Deputy Commissioner-General, 1968–71)". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 1920–2008 (December 2007 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 18 December 2024. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ "Vanuatu". Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  5. ^ Sands, Philippe (2022). The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain's Colonial Legacy. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-4746-1812-0.
  6. ^ Around the World Archived 22 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 3 October 2002
  7. ^ Melvern, Linda (5 January 2006). "Rennie, Sir John Shaw (1917–2002), colonial governor and international civil servant". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/88699. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Government offices
Preceded by British Resident Commissioner of the New Hebrides
1955–1962 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Mauritius
1962–1968 		Post abolished
Himself as governor-general
New creation
Himself as governor
 Governor-General of Mauritius
1968 		Succeeded by
Michel Rivalland (acting)
Positions in intergovernmental organisations
Preceded by Commissioner-General for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
1971–1977 		Succeeded by