Robert Howe (diplomat)

Robert George Howe (born September 19, 1893 - † June 22, 1981 ) was a British diplomat. Among other things, he served as Governor General of Sudan from 1947 to 1954.

Life and activity

After attending the Derby School and studying at St. Catharine's College at Cambridge University, he entered the British diplomatic service in 1919: After passing the entrance examination, he was officially appointed as a diplomat on September 19, 1919 and on October 1, 1919 in 3rd class secretary ranked diplomatic service.

In 1920 he belonged to the British Embassy in Copenhagen with the rank of Secretary in the diplomatic service 3rd class. After he was promoted to the rank of second class secretary on December 15, 1920, he remained at his post in Copenhagen until 1922. He then belonged to the British missions in Belgrade (1922-1924) and Rio de Janeiro (1924-1926), where he was promoted to the rank of secretary 1st class in 1926.

From 1926 to 1929 Howe belonged to the British Mission in Bucharest with the rank of 1st Secretary. He then worked from 1930 to 1934 in the London Foreign Office. He was then from 1934 to 1936 executive counsel at the British Mission in Beijing . In March 1938 he was transferred back to the Foreign Office, where he headed the Far East Department until 1940.

In 1940 Howe was appointed representative of the British government in Latvia. He remained in this post until 1942. This position brought him into the sights of the National Socialist police officers, who classified him as an important target: In the spring of 1940, the Reich Security Main Office in Berlin put him on the special wanted list GB , a directory of people who should be in the event of a successful invasion and occupation of the British Isles by the Wehrmacht should be located and arrested by the occupying troops following special SS commandos with special priority.

From 1942 to 1945 Howe served as the representative of the British government in Abyssinia.

In 1945 Howe was appointed one of several Assistant Under-Secretary of State of the British Foreign Office.

Howe reached the high point of his career in April 1947 when he was appointed British Governor General in Sudan to succeed Hubert Huddleston . He held this post until his retirement in July 1955. During his time in Sudan, he managed the gradual decolonization of the African state and prepared for its release to independence. To this end, he chaired the Executive Council of Sudan, which was composed of British and Sudanese representatives and was responsible for preparing the country's transition to self-government. In the wake of the parliamentary elections in Sudan in 1953, Howe presided over the opening of the first Sudanese parliament in January 1954. While the Sudanese saw the establishment of their own parliament as a first step on the way to achieving their independence, Howe was primarily pursuing them with this measure Weakening of the Egyptian influence on the state, which resulted from the breaking up of the British-Egyptian condominium over Sudan that existed until then with the creation of its own parliament. Howe's successor as Governor General was Alexander Knox Helm .

As a retiree Howe held the post of Justice of the Peace in Cornwall from 1955 to 1968.

family

Howe had been married to Loveday Mary Hext since 1919, with whom he had a son.

literature

• Robert Lowe: Great Britain and the Origins of the Pacific War: A Study of British Policy in East Asia, 1937-1941 , 1977, p. 289.
• Robert S. Kramer / Richard A. Lobban Jr./Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban: Historical Dictionary of the Sudan , 2013, p. 202.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Entry on Howe on the special wanted site GB (reproduced on the website of the Imperial War Museum in London)