Bruce Haigh

Bruce Douglas Haigh (6 August 1945 – 7 April 2023) was an Australian political commentator and diplomat. He joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs in 1972 and served in South Africa.[1][2]

Bruce Haigh
Born(1945-08-06)6 August 1945
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died7 April 2023(2023-04-07) (aged 77)
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Western Australia
Occupation(s)Public servant, diplomat, commentator
Political partyIndependent
Spouses
  • Libby Mosley
  • Jodie Burnstein
Children4

Life and career

Haigh was born in Sydney in 1945, and grew up in Perth.[3] He was in the Australian Army during the Vietnam War and studied at the University of Western Australia.[3]

Haigh became a diplomat. After an assignment in Pakistan, he was posted to South Africa as Second Secretary (1976–79). He initiated contact by the Australian Embassy in Pretoria with members of the internal resistance to apartheid,[4] including the Black Consciousness Movement in 1976. Included amongst the contacts he made at this time were Steve Biko (murdered by police whilst being held in detention in 1977) and Dr. Mamphela Ramphele (Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town and a Director of the World Bank). Haigh helped banned newspaper editor Donald Woods escape from South Africa into exile in England. His role in that escape was portrayed by Australian actor John Hargreaves in the film Cry Freedom, produced and directed by Richard Attenborough.[5]

Personal life and death

Haigh was married twice, first to Libby Mosley and then to Jodie Burnstein. He had two children from his first marriage and two from his second; one son predeceased him.[3]

In Haigh's last years, he had cancer. While in Laos, he fell ill and was flown to a hospital in Wollongong, New South Wales, where he died on 7 April 2023, at the age of 77.[3][6][7][8]

References
  1. Edwards, Lorna (8 February 2003). "The man who won't shut up". The Newcastle Herald. p. 1011.
  2. Barrowclough, Nikki (9 June 2001). "The man who saw too much". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 45.
  3. Cowell, Alan (23 April 2023). "Bruce Haigh, Diplomat Who Helped Battle Apartheid, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  4. "Steve Biko letters return to South Africa". PM. 4 February 2004. ABC Radio. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Transcript.
  5. Daley, Paul (9 October 2007). "Enviro-Envoy". Bulletin with Newsweek. Haigh was a controversial diplomat who, while in South Africa, used his diplomatic immunity to help black activists flee repression. He helped the newspaper editor Donald Woods — a fierce critic of apartheid — escape from South Africa, an incident portrayed in the film Cry Freedom.
  6. Barlass, Tim. "Bruce Haigh, diplomat who helped anti-apartheid activists, dies aged 77". Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. Cribb, Julian. "Bruce Haigh: a farewell". John Menadue, Pearls and Irritations.
  8. Behm, Allan. "Bruce Haigh, legendary diplomat and writer immortalised in the film Cry Freedom". The Guardian.
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