Page 33 - DIVA 2 2025 web

international

Italy was inconsistent in the 1930s, but Drummond faithfully executed Charter, to act on perceived threats to peace and
his instructions. Drummond’s return to the British Diplomatic Service security.
stimulated current UN restrictions on retiring Secretary Generals.
Alas, no new projects. We wrote the book on Sir
A er Rome, Drummond worked brie y for the British Government Eric because he, and the century of multilateral
before taking his seat in the House of Lords as Earl of Perth. ere, cooperation that he sparked, deserve greater
he participated in debates on international a airs and later directed recognition. ese are two causes that Marilyn,
the work of two groups that made signi cant contributions to the John and I continue to promote.
establishment of the United Nations. e rst, a ‘lessons learnt’
exercise of former senior League o cials; the second, a UK Liberal Diva: Finally, looking at the period of League of
Party review of the outcome of Dumbarton Oaks (the preparatory Nations, do you think it has similarities to our
conference for San Francisco). In each, Drummond championed the own time?
independence, integrity and objectivity of the international civil service, John: True multilateralism and great power
an achievement that Dag Hammarskjöld regarded as Drummond’s domination are incompatible. When major
creation. Subsequently, this transited seamlessly between the League powers reject international law and refuse to reach
and the new United Nations and its agencies. solutions through dialogue and compromise,
multilateral institutions inevitably su er. So,
Diva. It is a huge undertaking to write a book. How long did it take there is considerable similarity between the
you, and how did you nd the material? League’s fate in the 1930’s and today’s world.
Marilyn: e literature on Eric Drummond and the League of Nations
is rich but deeply buried! As a team of 4 people, we were able to look e League su ered immensely because it was
into many sources of information in various locations. Although many never universal, and powerful countries came
books have been written about the League, these have focussed on the and le . Fortunately, the UN remains universal,
institution rather than the remarkable people, including Drummond, for the moment. e General Assembly is a
who served within it. David Macfadyen had access to the Drummond beacon of light, although the Security Council
family papers in Scotland. Michael Davies was well placed in Oxford is inoperative because of the veto power.
to search there. John Burley had access to the League of Nations International law is ignored or disregarded by
Archives in Geneva. In London, I had access to the vast collection in those countries adversely a ected by its rulings.
the National Archives and also visited archive collections in Bristol and e US and other countries have withdrawn
Carlisle to ll out the details of Drummond’s life and work, as well as from certain agencies and UN programmes that
those of his closest colleagues. ese included some of the remarkable serve the common good, for reasons allegedly
(mainly British and American) women whom Drummond hired associated with national interests. e US is
into the League, a good quarter of a century before the doors of the also reviewing its support to all international
British Foreign O ce were open to women. We shared information organizations. Drummond viewed the US
and chapters were written collectively over a 5-year period. is was absence from the League as the principal reason
di cult, but our experience of teamwork in the UN helped, and it for the League’s di culties.
proved a very worthwhile thing to do.
Historical analogies are never exact. But if brute
Diva: David, you have also written a book on Derso & Kelen, the two force, also known as ‘might is right’, determines
caricaturists, which came out a year ago. Where does the interest come the outcome in Ukraine, then the current very
from, and do you have new book projects going on? worrying situation will degenerate even further,
David: Readers who have visited the Palais des Nations will have seen, as it did in the 1930s.
as I did, menu cards of Derso & Kelen displayed on the walls of the
Bar de la Presse. Realising their signi cance, the League had purchased
15, produced for annual lunches that international journalists hosted
for delegates. My interest was renewed when the present Earl of Perth
kindly gave me access to the Drummond family papers. Within these,
I discovered that Sir Eric had retained one of their cartoons. Dated
1927, it illustrates his role in Franco-German reconciliation and is
included in Eric Drummond and his Legacies. Another that is included,
from 1932, depicts Drummond defending his budget against attack, a
humorous image that reveals his prudent persona. A third, from 1950,
shows Trygve Lie dousing a cat and dog ght with a hose, an allusion
to the new power of the Secretary General under Article 99 of the UN

o
n
i
a
t
a
h

c
l
.
.
d
i
w
w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h
w
w
v
e
r
n
t
a
i
n