Glenn Robin Ware Babb (born June 4, 1943)[1] is a former politician and diplomat for the former apartheid government in South Africa. More recently he has been a businessman and entrepreneur. From 1985 to 1987 he had a high-profile posting in Canada where he was his government's ambassador to Ottawa and made frequent public statements against the anti-apartheid movement and in defence of his government and in opposition to the movement for economic sanctions on and disinvestment from South Africa that the Canadian government was leading internationally.[2]
Babb was educated at Stellenbosch University and at Oxford after which he joined South Africa's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[2] He also earned a law degree from the University of South Africa.[1]
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Glenn Babb was born in Johannesburg to Eric Ware Babb and Ora Constance Loverock and was educated at St John's College, Johannesburg, a private school for boys. He married Tracey Dibb on May 31, 2003. Babb has two sons and two daughters.[1]
Babb's worked as a schoolteacher in 1964 before continuing his education. In 1967, he joined the foreign ministry and in 1969 he had his first overseas posting when he was assigned to the South African embassy in Paris where he served as secretary for three years. He returned to Pretoria in 1972 and was a training officer with the ministry. He authored the book "Training for the Diplomatic Service"[3] In 1975, he returned to Paris where he was the embassy's counsellor and then in 1978, he moved to the South African embassy in Rome. In 1981, he again returned to South Africa to become head of the Africa Desk at the Ministry and held that position for four years.[1]
Babb's mission as Ambassador to Canada began in 1985 while South Africa was in crisis and international pressure on Pretoria was mounting. Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney threated to break off diplomatic relations with the country when he spoke at the United Nations.[2]
During his two-and-a-half year posting, Babb appeared on Canadian television more than 132 times and even more frequently on radio. He heavily lobbied politicians, journalists, intellectuals and universities in support of the Reagan Administration's policy of "constructive engagement"[2] rather than sanctions or divestment. Babb referred to apartheid as a "benign policy"[4] and a means of controlling "urbanization"[4] and claimed that sanctions would harm South African blacks more than the white minority.[5] He also said of sanctions, "Whether you shoot the zebra on the white stripe or the black stripe," he said, "you are going to kill the zebra."[6] He claimed that the disruption of mineral production in South Africa was in the interests of the Soviet Union and that South Africa was the only force standing in the way of a Soviet takeover of the African continent.[6]
Many of Babb's appearances across Canada were met with protests. In 1985, when he was speaking at the University of Toronto's Hart House, anti-apartheid activist Lennox Farrell hurled the debating society's ceremonial mace at him. In Montreal, when entering the private Mount Stephen club to give a speech, club members and Babb were pelted with eggs and snowballs by protesters who called him "racist scum".[2] In 1986, Babb appeared on the CBC Radio program Sunday Morning to debate Montreal human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler. The appearance was picketed by 50 anti-apartheid activists.[7]
In an article in Fortune, Babb compared South Africa's treatment of its black population with Canada's treatment of Native peoples. "The media reaction was phenomenal, but some Indian leaders said I was on the right track," said Babb retrospectively. Accepting an invitation by Chief Louis Stevenson, Babb made a high-profile visit to a First Nations reserve in Manitoba, with media in tow, in order to press his point.[2]
In 1987, Babb was recalled to South Africa to take over as head of the Africa division and deputy director-general of the department of foreign affairs.[8] As such, he initiated the Brazzaville talks for the withdrawal of South African troops from Angola and end the country's involvement in the South African Border War.[1] In the 1989 general election in South Africa, he entered politics as the ruling National Party's candidate in the electoral district of Randburg but was defeated by Wynand Malan, co-leader of the liberal Democratic Party.[9] He was nevertheless appointed to a seat in the South African parliament by F.W. de Klerk who, as President of South Africa, had the constitutional right to fill four seats in parliament through direct appointment.[10] Babb subsequently left parliament after two years, in 1991, and returned to the foreign ministry, serving as South Africa's ambassador to Italy[11] where he opened diplomatic relations with Albania, Malta and San Marino and was appointed the first South African Permanent Representative to UN Food and Agriculture Organisation since 1963.[12] He participated 1991-1992 in the Mozambican peace negotiations in Rome between RENAMO and FRELIMO under the aegis of the Rome Sant' Egidio community and his role is mentioned positively in Sant' Egidio's report on the success of the Peace Protocol.[13] In 1995 he left government service.[2] In 1995 he became chairman of AGIP Lubricants.[14] In 1998 he was appointed consultant to the government of the Western Cape and he continued in that role till 2002. In 1998 he was appointed Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Turkey with jurisdiction for the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape Provinces.[15] He has also been active with various business pursuits such as long-lasting milk [PARMALAT], oil lubricants, manufacturing, a tourism service, manufacturing wine vats and owning an office support and internet service.[2] In 2005, his firm Babrius was appointed by the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of Countries [ACP] aligned to the EU to write a report,[16] which was published in French and English by the ACP in Brussels on 13 February 2006
Babb was chairman of the Owl Club, from 2006 to 2007, a gentlemen's club, in Cape Town.[1]
In January 2009 Babb was shortlisted for the position of Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD in the African Union.[17]
Babb has published short stories and poetry,[18] articles on legal subjects,[19] and numerous other reports and articles, including: