Sir John Gilbert LaithwaiteGCMG KCB KCIE CSI (5 July 1894 – 21 December 1986) was a British civil servant and diplomat, born and raised inIreland. He reached the top of his profession, becomingPermanent Secretary of theCommonwealth Relations Office in 1955.
Gilbert Laithwaite was the eldest of two sons and two daughters, born inDublin. His father was John Laithwaite of the Post Office survey. His mother was Mary Kearney whose family hailed fromCastlerea,County Roscommon. Laithwaite was a first cousin of the Irish Republican leaderErnie O'Malley.[1]
Laithwaite went toClongowes Wood College, where he won a scholarship toTrinity College, Oxford, going on to achieve a second-class degree. He received an honorary fellowship from that college in 1955.[2]
Laithwaite was a homosexual.[3]
In theFirst World War, Laithwaite served in the British army in France as a second lieutenant with the 10th Lancashire Fusiliers. He was wounded in 1918. In 1971 he published an account of part of his war experience entitled21 March 1918: Memories of an Infantry Officer.[2]
Following the war, Laithwaite joined theIndia Office. In 1931 he was attached to Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald for thesecond Indian round-table conference in London.[2]
Work in India followed, on theLothian Committee on Indian Franchise, which extended the Indian franchise to 35 million voters.[4] From 1936 to 1943 he was principal private secretary to theViceroy of India,Lord Linlithgow.
In 1943 he returned to Britain as assistant under-secretary of state for India. In 1947 he took part in London talks on Burmese independence, also attended byStafford Cripps andAung San.[5] In 1949, he became United Kingdom representative, and from 1 July 1950 Ambassador, toIreland (where, despite being half Irish, he was generally seen as less successful than his predecessorLord Rugby in establishing friendly relations with members of the Irish Cabinet).[6] In 1951 he becamehigh commissioner toPakistan. In this position he became concerned with the implications of US military aid to Pakistan underIskander Mirza.[7] He reached the apex of his career asPermanent Secretary at theCommonwealth Relations Office from 1955 to 1959, visiting Australia andNew Zealand. From 1963 to 1966 he was vice-chairman of theCommonwealth Institute.
Laithwaite was appointed CIE in the1935 New Year Honours,[8] CSI in the1938 New Year Honours[9] and knighted KCIE in 1941.[10] He was further appointed KCMG in the1948 New Year Honours,[11] GCMG in the1953 Coronation Honours[12] and KCB in the1956 New Year Honours.[13] In 1960 he was appointed aKnight of Malta. He was president of theHakluyt Society (1964–1969), vice-president of theRoyal Central Asian Society (1967) and president of theRoyal Geographical Society (1966–1969).
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | UK Representative to Ireland 1949–1950 | Succeeded by himself as British Ambassador to Ireland |
| Preceded by himself as British Representative to Ireland | UK Ambassador to Ireland 1950–1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UK High Commissioner to the Dominion of Pakistan 1951–1954 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Permanent Secretary of the Commonwealth Relations Office 1955–1959 | Succeeded by |
