Jamsheed Marker

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Jamsheed Kekobad Ardeshir Marker (b: 1922) Hilal-e-Imtiaz, is a veteran Pakistani diplomat. Reportedly, he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having been ambassador to more countries than any other person.[1] He speaks English, Urdu, Gujarati, French, German, and Russian and was Pakistan's top envoy to the United States and more than a dozen other countries for more than three decades and earned the distinction as the world's longest-serving ambassador.[2]

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[edit] Career

Originally working in his family's shipping and pharmaceutical businesses, Marker moved into diplomacy in 1965 when he was appointed Pakistan's ambassador to Ghana.[2] Ambassador Marker has since represented Pakistan in the United Nations, the former Soviet Union, Canada, East Germany, Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, and other countries. He became Ambassador to the United States in 1986 and helped negotiate the Soviet military withdrawal from Afghanistan.[3]

He has also served as United Nations Under-secretary General, as a special advisor to United Nations ex-Secretary-General Kofi Annan,[4] and won praise for his role in bringing about the resolution of the East Timor conflict and the independence of that nation.[5] Marker was the U.N. special envoy to East Timor in 1999, and, as such, he helped negotiate a settlement and end to the occupation which claimed between 100,000 and 200,000 lives[6] and threatened the stability of Indonesia.[7] Reportedly, the Portuguese foreign minister praised Marker's "sophisticated and calm approach" while the Indonesian foreign minister said Marker's "diplomatic skills smoothed the way whenever there was a 'snag in the negotiations.'" Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general, hailed Marker's "empathy for both sides in the talks."[2]

In September 2004, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz named Jamsheed Marker as ambassador-at-large for his years of service.[8]

Currently, Marker is teaching international relations for the Spring semester at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida (were he has been teaching since 1995[7]) and is Eckerd College's diplomat in residence.[8] He usually teaches a course on "Diplomacy in International Relations."[2]

[edit] Family background

Ambassador Marker is the son of Kekobad Ardeshir Marker and Meherbanoo Pestonji, the grandson of Ardeshir Marker, and the great-nephew of Peshotanji Dossabhai Marker. He currently married to Arnaz Minwalla.[8] He was earlier married to Diana Faridoon Dinshaw (d:1979) with whom he had two daughters, Niloufer and Feroza.[9] His background is from the Parsi community of Pakistan.

[edit] Published Works

  • Marker, Jamsheed (2003), East Timor. A Memoir of the Negotiations for Independence, Jefferson: McFarland, ISBN 0-7864-1571-1 
  • Khan, Roedad & Marker, Jamsheed (1999), The American Papers. Secret and Confidential India-Pakistan-Bangladesh Documents, 1965-1973, London: OUP, ISBN 0-19-579190-8 

[edit] References

  1. ^ Martin, Susan Taylor (October 29, 2002), “Militants on run, Pakistan says”, St. Petersburg Times (South Pinellas ed.), St. Petersburg, FL , p. 2A.
  2. ^ a b c d Martin, Susan Taylor (September 22, 1999), “Call came to Tampa Bay for help in East Timor”, St. Petersburg Times (South Pinellas ed.), St. Petersburg, FL , p. 1A.
  3. ^ Eckerd College Faculty Directory, Jamsheed K.A. Marker, St. Petersburg, FL: Eckerd College, <http://www.eckerd.edu/academics/irga/faculty/marker.php> 
  4. ^ Pakistan Newswire (October 30, 2004), Turning LoC into border not to solve Kashmir issue: Marker, Karachi: PN 
  5. ^ Martin, Susan Taylor (August 15, 2004), “How the U.N. got one right”, St. Petersburg Times (South Pinellas ed.), St. Petersburg, FL , p. 4P.
  6. ^ The 2005 report of the UN's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor reports a figure of at least 102,800: 18,600 unlawful executions and 84,200 starvation deaths.(CAVR, Executive Summary, p. 44.) Less comprehensive earlier research, reports higher numbers. Researcher Ben Kiernan says "a toll of 150,000 is likely close to the truth".(Kiernan, p. 594.) A 1974 Catholic church estimate of the population of East Timor was 688,711 people; in 1982 the church reported only 425,000. This led to an estimate of 200,000 people killed during the occupation, which was widely reported around the world.(Dunn, pp. 283–285; Budiardjo and Liong, pp. 49–51)
  7. ^ a b Minai, Leanora (August 29, 2001), “Eckerd instructor injured in car crash”, St. Petersburg Times (South Pinellas ed.), St. Petersburg, FL , p. 3B.
  8. ^ a b c Park, Mary Jane (March 18, 2007), “Elegant in honor of Dali”, St. Petersburg Times (South Pinellas ed.), St. Petersburg, FL , p. 22.
  9. ^ Marker, Kekobad Ardeshir A Petal from the Rose Karachi 1985 vol II, Pg 240

[edit] External links

Interviews and Speeches
East Timor
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Lt. Gen. Ejaz Azim		 Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
September 1986 - June 1989		 Succeeded by
Zulfiqar Ali Khan
Preceded by
Sardar Shah Nawaz		 Pakistan Ambassador to the United Nations
September 1990 - March 1995		 Succeeded by
Ahmad Kamal