Charles Arden-Clarke
Charles Noble Arden-Clarke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor-General of Ghana | |
| In office 6 March 1957 – 24 June 1957 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Kwame Nkrumah |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Listowel |
| Governor of the Gold Coast | |
| In office 11 August 1949 – 6 March 1957 | |
| Monarchs | George VI Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Kwame Nkrumah (21 March 1952 – 6 March 1957) |
| Preceded by | SirRobert Scott |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| British High Commissioner to Brunei | |
| In office 1948–1949 | |
| Preceded by | Malcolm MacDonald |
| Succeeded by | C.W. Dawson |
| Resident Commissioner ofBechuanaland | |
| In office 1937–1942 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Fernand Rey |
| Succeeded by | Aubrey Denzil Forsyth-Thompson |
| 1stGovernor of Sarawak | |
| In office 1 July 1946 – 26 July 1949 | |
| Monarch | George VI |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Duncan George Stewart |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 July 1898[1] Bournemouth,England |
| Died | 16 December 1962(aged 64)[2] Syleham,England |
Sir Charles Noble Arden-ClarkeGCMGGCStJ[3](25 July 1898 – 16 December 1962) was a British colonialadministrator.
Biography
[edit]Arden-Clarke was educated atRossall School.[4]He was the Resident Commissioner of theBechuanaland Protectorate(laterBotswana) between 1937 and 1942, a time at which the ruling regentTshekedi Khamawas in violent conflict with the British authorities.[5]He was the Resident Commissioner ofBasutolandfrom August 1942 to November 1946, and in 1946 was appointed as the firstGovernorof the newly created British Crown Colony of Sarawak, which was ceded in 1946 by theKingdom of Sarawak.During his governorship in Sarawak he was despised by locals as, upon his appointment, Sarawak was engulfed with theAnti-cession Movement,which led to the assassination of his successor,Duncan Stewartin 1949 by the radical members of the Anti-cession movement.
On 1 May 1948, he assumed the position of High Commissioner to Brunei. Documents were neither signed nor exchanged between Arden-Clarke andAnthony Abell,only the reading of the appointment for him was made in front of Brunei dignitaries in the State Court House. He promised the people of Brunei that it was his duty and responsibility to protect the interests and welfare of Brunei and its inhabitants and to contribute to its future development and progress. He was replaced by C.W. Dawson in October 1949.[6]
After Sarawak, he was the lastgovernorof theGold Coast(laterGhana), from August 1949[5]until 1957, taking up residence inFort Christiansborg.[7]On 12 February 1951, he authorisedKwame Nkrumah'srelease from imprisonment inJames Fort.After independence, he was named the firstGovernor-General of Ghanain 1957. Arden-Clarke's acceptance of the Africans and his attitude towardsKwame Nkrumahlikely contributed to Ghana's relatively smooth transition to independence.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^Who's who of Southern Africa.Ken Donaldson (Pty.) Limited. 1959.
- ^African Affairs.Royal African Society. 1968.
- ^1952 New Year Honours
- ^"Arden-Clarke, Sir Charles Noble".Who's Who.A & C Black.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^abDavid Birmingham (1998).Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism(Rev. ed.). Ohio University Press. pp. 38–39.ISBN978-0-8214-1242-8.
- ^"Brunei Darussalam 1944 - 1962: Constitutional and Political Development In A Malay-Muslim Sultanate"(PDF).University of London.October 1955. pp. 66–67.
- ^Hove, Jon Olav (2018)."Forts, Castles and Society in West Africa: Gold Coast and Dahomey, 1450-1960"(PDF).Brill Academic Publishers.doi:10.1163/9789004380172_011.hdl:11250/2596833.S2CID166350383.Retrieved21 May2021.
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Archives
[edit]Papers of Charles Arden-Clarke giving an insight into events during the transition of the Gold Coast to independent Ghana (1949-1957) are held bySOAS Special Collections
- Colonial Administrative Service officers
- Commissioners of the Bechuanaland Protectorate
- Governors of the Gold Coast (British colony)
- Governors of Sarawak
- Governors-general of Ghana
- 1898 births
- 1962 deaths
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
- People educated at Rossall School
- Basutoland in World War II
- Bechuanaland Protectorate in World War II
- 1930s in Bechuanaland Protectorate
- 1940s in Bechuanaland Protectorate