Title: Don Mills - Journeys and missions at home and away

Reviewed by: Alfred Sangster

Published by: Arawak Publishers 2009

This book is written by one of Jamaica's famous sons and a diplomat extraordinaire. It gives an interesting account of the career of Ambassador Don Mills, who has served as a distinguished representative of Jamaica in many different areas. In fact, it really is an autobiography and on reflection the title of the book is somewhat pedestrian and would have been better stated as The Travels and the Life of a Diplomat. But, perhaps Ambassador Mills, modest man that he is, might have seen such a title as being 'boastful'. But the journeys and missions detailed in the text take us to the realm of the international, and it could well be said that Don Mills walked with the high and mighty on the world stage.

The book of six chapters and some 400 pages traces his development from being a schoolboy at Jamaica College through an early job in the local War Information Office during the second World War where he began to learn the ways of the British empire.

A scholarship to the London School of Economics (LSE) put him in contact with some of the emerging leaders of the Caribbean - Marryshow of Grenada, Griffith of Guyana, Barrow of Barbados, Carberry of Jamaica and others through the West Indian Students Union. These contacts would have important later connections as he advanced in the diplomatic world. He also captained the LSE Second Cricket team.

international travel

Returning to Jamaica, the young Mills returned to a post in the Bureau of Statistics, a position which provi-ded opportunities for international travel and meeting people from all parts of the world. Transferred later to the Central Planning Unit, he was also part of a newly established unit which had to find its place in the organisational structure of government as the process of self-government developed.

A short two-year stint when he was seconded as permanent secretary in the newly created Ministry of Development in The Bahamas was followed by a period of close association with the University of the West Indies including a brief period as acting registrar. All these experiences were to be the proving grounds for the diplomatic career that was to follow.

Chapter four: Independent Jamaica in the World Arena, is the longest chapter and provides an overview of the activities of this brilliant representative of Jamaica on the world stage. For it was over a period of many years that Ambassador Mills achieved some of the top international positions as he served as Jamaica's overseas ambassador.

Some of these at various times were:

Ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations (UN)

Alternative executive director, International Monetary Fund

President of the UN Economic and Social Council

Jamaica representative to UN Security Council

President, UN Security Council

Chairman Commonwealth Foundation

The book is replete with photographs of various events at which Ambassador Mills took a leading part. The photograph on the cover shows Ambassador Mills presenting his credentials to the then secretary general of the UN Kurt Waldheim in 1973.

In commenting on his work at the UN, Don Mills remarks:

"I discovered after a while that if you took the UN seriously, it takes you seriously. I refer to the UN staff, the media, and the diplomats. The pressures are great, and there are sometimes very difficult situations which one must handle. But I found that this posting constituted the high point in my long and varied career."

In his nearly a decade of service at the UN, Ambassador Mills gained insights to the operations of the UN and its many agencies. These insights are shared in the book and provide the reader with an opportunity to grasp many of the incidents on the world scene during that period. Some of these were:

The workings of many of the agencies such as the Security Council, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and many more.

Historical insights on the many developments of the period such as: the Law of the Sea, Decolonization and the Independence movement, the Iran-Iraq conflict, the North-South Divide and the emergence of the South-South cooperation.

The decade of the '70s was a time of great international turmoil. The cold war was on and the non-aligned nations joined forces in what was hoped to be an alliance of the poor. Jamaica embarked upon its path of democratic socialism and the New International Economic Order was mooted. Ambassador Mills delegates seve-ral pages to these developments but remarks that after many conferences and meetings there was a sense of failure of the efforts.

"The UN secretary general remarked that we were witnessing a 'weakening of the spirit of cooperation'."

Ambassador Mills described his presidency of the UN Security Council as a "baptism of fire". He was castigated by two Gleaner editorials, one of which charged that:

"It is a great pity that Jamaica, which could play a pivotal role in keeping the non-aligned world independent of the power blocks, appears to have subsumed its efforts in the support of Cuba."

Ambassador Mills returned home in 1981 and formally retired from the public service. He did express surprise that the news of a change in Jamaica's representation at the UN had reached him before he had been officially notified by the authorities. Ambassador Mills was told that it was intended to "lower the profile". He remarks that he is still not quite sure whose profile was to be lowered. Was it Jamaica's, or the Government's, or the delegation at the UN, or his?

major activities

However, the armchair was not to be, as life became as full as ever with a wide range of activities both at home and abroad. One of the major activities was the chairmanship of the Commonwealth Foundation for a four-year period. He was also appointed to the Privy Council and the Judicial services Commission in Jamaica and served on numerous other boards and commissions both at home and overseas. He was very much a part of the environment movement and he was appointed chairman of the newly established National Resources and Conservation Authority.

Ambassador Mills is a collector of musical instruments and a drawing of his collection done by his son Mario is one of the pictures in the book. The appendices list his many publications and national and academic awards.

This is the story of the experiences of a great Jamaican who has served his country and the wider world community with distinction. Certainly a must for every public library and for those interested on Jamaica's place in the international community.