Peter William Youens
Encyclopedia
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(April 29 1916 – 6 May 2000) played an important role in the transition of Nyasaland to independence as Malawi in 1964. He was Deputy Chief Secretary of Nyasaland from 1953 to 1963, and secretary to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Malawi from 1963 to 1966, where he enjoyed the confidence of the prime minister Hastings Banda
Hastings Banda
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the leader of Malawi and its predecessor state, Nyasaland, from 1961 to 1994. After receiving much of his education overseas, Banda returned to his home country to speak against colonialism and advocate for independence...
(who became President of Malawi in 1966). After leaving Malawi he was prominent as a director of Lonrho.
Early life and career
Youens' father was a clergyman in BrodsworthBrodsworth
Brodsworth is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, situated about five miles north-west of Doncaster...
and his elder brother John was eventually to become Chaplain General
Chaplain General
In the Anglican Church, chaplains general are the seniormost Anglican chaplains in otherwise non-Anglican organizations. Chaplains general are most commonly appointed in Commonwealth Realms, and are responsible for conducting religious services and ceremonies, and generally representing the...
to the Forces. Youens was educated at King Edward VII School
King Edward VII School (Sheffield)
King Edward VII School is a secondary school and language college located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. KES, named after the reigning monarch, was formed in 1905 when Wesley College was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School on the site of the former on Glossop Road...
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
—where he played cricket for the First XI in 1935 and was Second Prefect—and at Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
.
He joined the British Colonial Administrative Service in 1938. After service in the Navy he became assistant district commissioner and then district commissioner in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, before moving to Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
as assistant secretary in 1951.
Youens was appointed OBE in 1960, CMG in 1962, and was knighted in 1965.
Nyasaland and Malawi
Youens was deputy chief secretary in the British colonial administration of NyasalandNyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
from 1953 to 1963. Dr Hastings Banda
Hastings Banda
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the leader of Malawi and its predecessor state, Nyasaland, from 1961 to 1994. After receiving much of his education overseas, Banda returned to his home country to speak against colonialism and advocate for independence...
returned to Nyasaland in 1958 to lead the Nyasaland African Congress
Nyasaland African Congress
The Nyasaland African Congress was an organization that evolved into a political party in Nyasaland during the colonial period. The NAC was suppressed in 1959, but was succeeded in 1960 by the Malawi Congress Party, which went to on decisively win the first universal suffrage elections in 1961,...
and Youens undertook the role of chief negotiator between Banda and Sir Glyn Jones
Glyn Smallwood Jones
Sir Glyn Smallwood Jones, GCMG, MBE , was a British colonial administrator in Southern Africa. He was the last governor of Nyasaland from 1961 until it achieved independence in 1964. He served as the only Governor-General of Malawi from 1964 until it became a republic in 1966...
, the Governor of Nyasaland. The discussions centred on internal self-government, secession from the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation , was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia,...
, and eventual independence in 1964.
When Banda became Prime Minister in 1963, he asked for Youens as his private secretary. Youens remained in this post until 1966, when Banda declared Malawi a republic with himself as president.
Lonrho
In the 1960s Tiny RowlandTiny Rowland
Roland "Tiny" Rowland was a British businessman and chairman of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1994...
, the managing director of Lonrho, was establishing links with African leaders in connection with Lonrho's assets, which included sugar plantations and railway interests in Malawi.
Youens became one of Rowland's friends and after retiring from Malawi in 1966, became an executive director of Lonrho. He left Lonrho in 1969 to join John Tyzack & Partners, but returned to the Lonrho board in 1980 where he remained until 1994, after control of Lonrho had passed from Rowland to the German businessman Dieter Bock
Dieter Bock
Dieter Bock was a German lawyer and tax consultant turned businessman. He was one of the wealthiest Germans before he choked to death in the Atlantic Kempinski luxury hotel in Hamburg. He was 71.-References:...
.