John Noel Reedman

John Noel Reedman (24 December 1905 – 20 May 1994) was an English-South African diplomat who was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Palestine. He had previously served as Senior Economic Advisor both to UNSCOP and the Palestine Commission. Reedman was a professor of economics at Witwatersrand University in South Africa.

Life John Noel Reedman was born on 24 December 1905 in Kirkburton, Yorkshire, England. He gained a PhD in economics from Sheffield University. Reedman moved to South Africa and became a lecturer of economics in the Department of Commerce at the University of Witwatersrand in 1936. He was described as an "outstanding teacher and scholar" who had "carried much of the lecturing burden of the department" Reedman was part of a five-member team assembled at the direction of Secretary-General Trygve Lie to collect this information. Reedman, Bunche and Vigier, who had served in an advisory capacity to UNSCOP, unsuccessfully campaigned against the partition plan. He was appointed to broker a peace settlement and find a solution to the Palestine question after the Commission proved unable to quell the civil war that had broken out following the adoption of the partition plan on 29 November 1947. During this time he and his staff were based in Tel Aviv and he acted as one of Folke Bernadotte's closest advisors.

After Bernadotte's assassination in 1948, the UN General Assembly decided to set up the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP) with the aim of mediating the Arab-Israeli conflict. Reedman continued his involvement on the issue of the disposition of movable and immovable property belonging to Arab refugees who could not return to their homes.

Reedman became Principal Secretary of the Clapp Mission of the UN's Economic Survey Mission for the Middle East, which became known as the "Clapp Mission", named after its chairman, Gordan R. Clapp. Its report was issued on 28 December 1949.

In 1953 the UNCCP sent Reedman to visit the capitals of various Arab countries to negotiate the issue of blocked Arab accounts in Israel. He spent nearly two months attempting to reconcile Israel and Jordan. In 1959, Reedman was appointed the Director of the United Nations Information Centre in London. However, he returned to New York after one year, resuming his role at the Resources and Industry branch at DESA. He was later appointed Director of the UN Office of Technical Cooperation.

After he had retired, Reedman's expertise as a Middle East specialist were sought once more when he was appointed to support the Jarring Mission in 1971. However, the Mission's efforts were unsuccessful in achieving a lasting peace settlement between Israel and neighbouring Arab states after the Six-Day War under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242. After 1973, the Jarring Mission was replaced by bilateral and multilateral peace conferences.

Death

Reedman died on 20 May 1994 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England.

"Gold and Post-War Currency Standards" in the South African Journal of Economics (1941) South African Journal of Economics

“Exchange Depreciation and the Future of Gold” in the South African Journal of Economics (1937) South African Journal of Economics