We had a very good relationship. Very good. I liked [Sonny Ramphal]. I thought he was a genuine man.
“We had a very good relationship. Very good. I liked [Sonny Ramphal]. I thought he was a genuine man.” Bob Hawke
“We had a very good relationship. Very good. I liked [Sonny Ramphal]. I thought he was a genuine man.” Bob Hawke
“Geoffrey [Howe] and I were mates, and he disagreed with [ Margaret Thatcher] position. So, we cooperated surreptitiously.” Bob Hawke
“I don’t know who described Mahathir [bin Mohamad] as a pillar of the Commonwealth, but they don’t know what they’re talking about.” Bob Hawke
“I believe [ Rajiv Gandhi] had a real sense that he would be assassinated.” Bob Hawke
“[ Elizabeth II] has immersed herself, in the sense [that] she can speak intelligently about any and all members of the Commonwealth and she has … Read More
“I said to my people, “We’re knocking apartheid off but we’ve got to be prepared to assist them.” And I sent senior people over there … Read More
“I had no time for Indira Gandhi. She was too much in the Russian camp for my liking.” Bob Hawke
“Brian Mulroney, myself, [and] Rajiv Gandhi; I think that was the real core [of the Commonwealth ]. That was the engine room, I reckon.” … Read More
“We [ with Brian Mulroney and Rajiv Gandhi] went to the meeting in Canada [the 1987 Vancouver CHOGM] and I said to them there that … Read More
“When George Bush Senior [George HW Bush] was getting his alliance together to go into Iraq – to kick the Iraqis out of Kuwait – … Read More
“You’ve got to remember the Cold War was a very real thing then, so the relationship with the United States was very, very important. As … Read More
“I had a very close relationship with [Brian] Mulroney.” Bob Hawke
“Don’t talk to me about what’s happened since [Nelson] Mandela! His successor was absolutely hopeless – “no such thing as AIDS” – and this present … Read More
“It was a remarkable relationship. Margaret [Thatcher] and I had a love/hate relationship. She was always defending the South African regime and we had some … Read More
“I was used on a number of occasions by the United States and China as a conduit. For instance, I was up there talking with … Read More
“One other thing: at the meeting in Canada, [there was] the coup in Fiji. This comes to an important part of the Commonwealth: the role … Read More
“I think there are a number of reasons, not least of which is the personality of the Queen [ Elizabeth II]. It’s very easy to … Read More
“One of the features of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings was [that] she [ Elizabeth II] would have a meeting with each of them. … Read More
“She [ Elizabeth II] is, you know, “Do-what-you’re-told, Lady”. But in the Commonwealth, she is much more than just a figurehead.” Bob Hawke
“I rang Brian [Mulroney] up. I said, “What’s this bloody nonsense. You’ve got a wheat trade with Iraq and you won’t come aboard?” I said, … Read More