Interview with Rashleigh Jackson: Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Rashleigh Jackson, conducted 27 January 2015 in Demerara, Guyana, as part of the Commonwealth Oral History Project. The project aims to produce a unique digital research resource on the oral history of the Commonwealth since 1965 through sixty oral history interviews with leading figures in the recent history of the organisation. It will provide an essential research tool for anyone investigating the history of the Commonwealth and will serve to promote interest in and understanding of the organisation. Biography: Jackson, Rashleigh Edond. 1929- . Born in New Amsterdam, British Guiana. Joined the civil service in 1949. Received scholarship to study in the United Kingdom, 1954. Educated at the University of London and University of Leicester. Teacher at Queen’s College Secondary School, Guyana, 1957-64. Joined Ministry of External Affairs (later renamed ‘Foreign Affairs’) in 1964, becoming Permanent Secretary in 1968. Permanent Representative of Guyana at the United Nations in New York and President of the UN Council for Namibia, 1973-78. Foreign Minister of Guyana, 1978-1990. Recipient of the Order of Roraima of Guyana, 1991.