Margaret Anstee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dame Margaret Anstee DCMG
Dame Margaret Anstee at the Honduran Military Academy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Born	Margaret Joan Anstee 25 June 1926 Writtle, Essex, England
Died	25 August 2016(2016-08-25) (aged 90) Knill, Herefordshire, England
Alma mater	Newnham College, Cambridge University of London
Occupation	Diplomat at the United Nations (1952–1993)

Dame Margaret Anstee was a very important British diplomat. She worked for the United Nations for over 40 years, from 1952 to 1993. In 1987, she became an Under-Secretary-General. This was a huge achievement because she was the first woman ever to reach such a high position!

Margaret Anstee's Early Life and School

Margaret Joan Anstee was born on June 25, 1926, in Writtle, Essex, England. She was the only child of Edward and Annie Anstee. Her father was a printer, and her mother was a domestic servant. Margaret grew up in Chelmsford, Essex. Even though her parents did not finish high school, they strongly encouraged her to get a good education.

Margaret went to Chelmsford County High School for Girls. Later, she studied at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1944, she earned top grades in French and Spanish. At that time, women could not get full degrees from Cambridge University. This changed three years later. Margaret continued her studies at the University of London.

Starting Her Career

After college, Margaret worked for a year as a Spanish lecturer at Queen's University, Belfast. In 1948, she joined the Foreign Office. This is where diplomats work for the British government. She was a "third secretary" and worked on topics related to Latin America.

Margaret married Michael Rotherham Starke in 1952. At that time, the Foreign Office had a rule called the "marriage bar." This rule meant that women employees had to quit their jobs when they got married. So, Margaret had to leave her job. She then traveled with her husband, who was also a diplomat, to Singapore and Manila, Philippines.

Working for the United Nations

While in Manila, Margaret's marriage began to have problems. In 1952, she took a job with the United Nations. She worked as an administration officer to earn money to return to England. She and her husband went back to England in 1954. Margaret worked part-time as a lecturer at Newnham College. In 1956, she divorced her husband. After that, she rejoined the UN as the acting head of the Technical Assistance Board in Bogotá, Colombia.

Margaret Anstee became a Resident Representative for the UN Development Programme (UNDP). She worked in eight different countries across Asia, Latin America, and Africa. From 1974 to 1987, she held important jobs at the UN headquarters in New York City.

She also helped with many disaster relief efforts. These included helping after a flood in Bangladesh in 1973 and after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1991–92. She also helped countries facing big economic problems, like Bolivia and Peru. She even became a citizen of Bolivia in 1990.

Margaret worked on projects to help countries develop their economies and societies. Most of this work was with the United Nations Development Programme. From 1992 to 1993, she was the Secretary-General's Special Representative to Angola. She was the first woman to lead a UN peacekeeping mission. A peacekeeping mission helps keep peace in areas of conflict.

After the UN

After leaving the UN in July 1993, Margaret became a special advisor to the government of Bolivia. She advised them on development and money matters. She also wrote reports and gave talks about the United Nations. She focused on topics like development, peacekeeping, and how the UN could improve.

She also helped train military and civilian people for peacekeeping missions. She did this in many countries, including the UK, Sweden, and South Africa.

Later Life and Legacy

Margaret Anstee created the Margaret Anstee Developing World Fund. This fund helps graduate students at Newnham College with their studies in other countries.

In her last years, Margaret learned Welsh. She died on August 25, 2016, at her home in Knill, Herefordshire. She was 90 years old. She left money to start the Margaret Anstee Centre for Global Studies at Newnham College. This center helps people learn about global issues.

Awards and Honours

In 1991, Margaret Anstee was made an Honorary Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge. This is a special title given to people who have achieved great things. In 1993, she received the Reves Peace Prize from the College of William & Mary in the U.S.. She also received honorary doctorates from several universities in the UK.

In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II made her a Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George. This is a very high honour. The governments of Austria, Bolivia, and Morocco also honoured her.

In 2011, Margaret received the Sir Brian Urquhart Award. This award is given for great service to the United Nations.

Her Books

Margaret Anstee wrote several books about her experiences and the places she worked.

• Gate of the Sun: a Prospect of Bolivia (1970) was about her time in Bolivia. It was also published as Bolivia: Gate of the Sun.
• Orphan of the Cold War: the Inside Story of the Collapse of the Angolan Peace Process 1992–1993 (1996) shared her experiences leading the UN peacekeeping mission in Angola.
• Her memoirs, Never Learn to Type: A Woman at the United Nations (2003), told the story of her long career at the UN.
• In 2009, she published The House on the Sacred Lake, which also described her life in Bolivia.
• She also wrote a biography about one of her professors, John Brande Trend, called JB — An Unlikely Spanish Don: The Life and Times of Professor John Brande Trend (2013).