Malcolm MacDonald facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Malcolm MacDonald OM
MacDonald in 1931
Governor-General of Kenya
In office 12 December 1963 – 12 December 1964
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Jomo Kenyatta
Preceded by	Himself (as Colonial Governor)
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Governor of Kenya
In office 4 January 1963 – 12 December 1963
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Sir Eric Griffith-Jones (acting)
Succeeded by	Himself (as Governor-General)
Minister of Health
In office 13 May 1940 – 8 February 1941
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Walter Elliot
Succeeded by	Ernest Brown
Secretary of State for the Colonies
In office 16 May 1938 – 12 May 1940
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by	The Lord Harlech
Succeeded by	The Lord Lloyd
In office 7 June 1935 – 22 November 1935
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by	Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister
Succeeded by	James Henry Thomas
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
In office 31 October 1938 – 29 January 1939
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by	Lord Stanley
Succeeded by	Sir Thomas Inskip
In office 22 November 1935 – 16 May 1938
Monarch	Edward VIII George VI
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by	James Henry Thomas
Succeeded by	Lord Stanley
Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
In office 24 August 1931 – 7 June 1935
Prime Minister	Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by	William Lunn
Succeeded by	Edward Stanley
Member of Parliament for Ross and Cromarty
In office 10 February 1936 – 15 June 1945
Preceded by	Ian Macpherson
Succeeded by	John MacLeod
Member of Parliament for Bassetlaw
In office 30 May 1929 – 25 October 1935
Preceded by	Ellis Hume-Williams
Succeeded by	Frederick Bellenger
Personal details
Born	Malcolm John MacDonald (1901-08-17)17 August 1901 Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland
Died	11 January 1981(1981-01-11) (aged 79) Maidstone, Kent, England
Resting place	Spynie Cemetery, Morayshire, Scotland
Political party	Labour National Labour
Spouse	Audrey Marjorie Fellowes Rowley ​ (m. 1946)​
Children	3 (2 adopted)
Parents	Ramsay MacDonald Margaret Ethel MacDonald
Relatives	Ishbel MacDonald (sister) Sheila MacDonald (sister)
Alma mater	Queen's College, Oxford

Malcolm John MacDonald (born August 17, 1901 – died January 11, 1981) was an important British politician and diplomat. A diplomat is someone who represents their country in other nations. He started his career as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Labour Party. An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the national parliament. In 1931, he joined the National Government, following his father, Ramsay MacDonald, who was the Prime Minister. Because of this, he was no longer part of the Labour Party. Malcolm MacDonald served as a government minister during the Second World War and later became the Governor of Kenya.

Early Life and Education

Malcolm MacDonald was born in Lossiemouth, Scotland. His father, Ramsay MacDonald, later became the Prime Minister. Malcolm went to Bedales School and then to Queen's College, Oxford, a famous university. He was very good at debating, which means arguing a topic in a formal way. In 1924, he even went on a debating tour across the United States and Australia.

Political Career

Starting in Politics

Malcolm MacDonald was first elected as an MP for Bassetlaw in 1929. He was very loyal to his father. In 1931, the Labour government faced problems, and Malcolm's father formed a new government called the National Government. This government included members from different political parties. Malcolm was one of the few Labour members who supported it. He was given a junior role as the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. This job involved working with countries that were part of the British Empire.

Malcolm kept his seat in Parliament in the 1931 election. He became known as a very capable minister. When his father retired as Prime Minister in 1935, Stanley Baldwin took over and made Malcolm a part of the Cabinet for the first time. The Cabinet is a group of senior ministers who advise the Prime Minister. Malcolm became the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a very important job overseeing British colonies around the world.

Returning to Parliament

In the 1935 election, Malcolm MacDonald lost his seat in Parliament. However, Prime Minister Baldwin still wanted him in the government. So, Malcolm was moved to a new role as Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs.

In 1936, Malcolm ran for Parliament again in a special election in Ross and Cromarty. He won this election and returned to Parliament. He kept his important government roles even after his father and Stanley Baldwin retired. With the new Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, Malcolm worked on new agreements with the Irish Free State. These agreements helped solve problems related to trade and other issues.

Work in Palestine

In May 1938, Malcolm became the Colonial Secretary again. This role was very important because of the situation in British Mandate of Palestine. Palestine was a territory under British rule after World War I. In October, he also took on the role of Dominions Secretary for a short time.

In 1939, MacDonald introduced a plan known as the MacDonald White Paper. This plan aimed to create a single state in Palestine and control Jewish immigration. The plan suggested that enough Jewish people had already settled there, and an independent Jewish state should not be formed. Many politicians disagreed with this plan. Some argued that it went against earlier promises, like the Balfour Declaration, which supported a Jewish homeland.

The League of Nations, an international organization, also said that the White Paper did not follow the rules of the Mandate. However, the start of the Second World War stopped further discussions. It is thought that MacDonald and Chamberlain wanted to prevent a big conflict in Palestine during the war. Many people, including some government supporters, opposed the White Paper. They pointed out that Jewish people were suffering in Europe and needed a safe place to go.

Role in Ireland

In May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and formed a government that included all major parties. Malcolm MacDonald was kept in the government and became the Minister of Health. In June 1940, he went to Dublin to meet with Éamon de Valera, the leader of the Irish Free State. MacDonald offered to end the Partition of Ireland (the division of Ireland into two parts) if Ireland would join the Allies in the war. De Valera refused this offer. He instead tried to get weapons from Britain, but the British government said no. They were worried that any weapons given to Ireland might fall into German hands if Germany invaded.

Moving to Canada

In 1941, Malcolm MacDonald's career changed direction. He was appointed as the High Commissioner to Canada. A High Commissioner is like an ambassador, representing their country in a Commonwealth nation. He stayed in this role until 1946. In 1945, he decided to leave British politics.

Work in Southeast Asia

After Canada, MacDonald moved to Singapore in 1946. He served as Governor-General of British territories in Southeast Asia until 1948. Then he became the Commissioner-General for Southeast Asia. In this role, he helped coordinate British defense and intelligence in the region. He also worked with leaders of countries like Cambodia. MacDonald was very popular in Singapore. He was interested in art and antiques and joined many social groups. A building in Singapore, MacDonald House, was named after him in 1949. He also served as the head of the University of Malaya from 1949 to 1961. Later, he was the High Commissioner to India from 1955 to 1960.

Later Years and Roles

From 1961 to 1962, he helped lead the Laos Conference, which aimed to keep Laos neutral. His final major role was as Governor-General of Kenya from 1963 to 1964. In his later years, he was the Chancellor of the University of Durham from 1971 to 1980.

Personal Life

Malcolm MacDonald loved birds and was an expert on them. In 1934, he published a book called Bird Watching at Lossiemouth. While he was in Canada, he traveled a lot and wrote a book about his journeys called Down North (1943). This book described the history, geography, and people of Canada's northwest.

MacDonald was also a big art collector, especially of Chinese ceramics. He sold and gave his art collections to museums around the world. His Chinese ceramic collections, with over 500 pieces, are now in museums like the Oriental Museum of Durham University and the University of Malaya Museum of Asian Art.

In December 1946, he married Audrey Marjorie Fellowes Rowley, who was a Canadian war widow. They had one daughter, Fiona. Malcolm also adopted Audrey's two children from her first marriage, Bill and Jane.

Death

Malcolm MacDonald spent his last years in Kent, England. In 1981, he had a heart attack and passed away on January 11, at the age of 79. He was buried in his family's plot in Scotland. His wife, Audrey, passed away in 2015 at the age of 99.

Writings

Malcolm MacDonald wanted to be a novelist when he was young, but he didn't publish any fiction. However, he wrote many factual books about the places, people, and wildlife he encountered during his diplomatic career. Here are some of his published works:

• Down North (1943): About his travels in Canada.
• Birds of Brewery Creek (1947): A diary about bird watching.
• Borneo People (1956): About his friendships with the Dayak people in Borneo.
• Angkor (1958): One of the first guides to the Cambodian temple complex at Angkor Wat.
• Birds in My Indian Garden (1960): A book with many black-and-white photos of birds.
• Birds in the Sun (1962): A guide to birds in South Asia, with color photos.
• Treasure of Kenya (1965): A book to encourage wildlife conservation in Kenya.
• People and Places (1969): His autobiography, full of stories.
• Titans and Others (1972): His thoughts on his friendships with important people of the 20th century.
• Inside China (1980): A history of China and his travels there.
• The Pleasures and Pains of Collecting (2018): A book about his experiences as an art collector, published after his death.