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Quote by 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.”

Quote by Bob Hawke

Author

Bob Hawke, born on December 9, 1929, served as the Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He is one of the youngest prime ministers in Australian history. During his tenure, Hawke implemented economic reforms, enhanced Australia's international status, and advocated for social justice and environmental protection. more

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“Brian Mulroney, myself, [and] Rajiv Gandhi; I think that was the real core [of the Commonwealth ]. That was the engine room, I reckon.”

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“The concept there was that the small number of developed countries within the Commonwealth should provide assistance. This was not just financial but personal, providing experts and so on, to assist less developed members of the Commonwealth to get on the growing path. And that was part of what we did with South Africa.”

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“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 to assist the incoming South African regime to go about the economic plan.”

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“We had a very good relationship. Very good. I liked [Sonny Ramphal]. I thought he was a genuine man.”

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“I can't speak with authority about Emeka Anyaoku. I just didn't know him that well.”

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“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 was the relationship that I was developing with China: that was something I did very much. And they weren't conflicting things.”

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“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 the Chinese leadership and they said to me that they were a bit concerned that the Americans had a misunderstanding about their relationship with the Soviets. There was some suggestion that there was a rapprochement developing between China and the Soviets, but nothing could have been further from the truth.”

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“It was very much an Australian/New Zealand initiative to have a nuclear free South Pacific. And the Americans were very apprehensive about this. So, I explained to them that, as far as I was concerned, this didn't involve any diminution in our commitment to the ANZUS relationship. But David Lange took it further and he barred visits of US nuclear warships to New Zealand.”

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“I told [ David Lange] he was crazy, because you can't have an alliance relationship if you refuse access to their ships. And the Americans wanted to punish him very severely and I intervened there and softened them somewhat. They wanted to really take some tough, reactive measures to New Zealand.”

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“I had no time for Indira Gandhi. She was too much in the Russian camp for my liking.”

Author:Bob Hawke