Robert K. A. Gardiner

Robert K. A. Gardiner
Robert Gardiner in 1962
Commissioner for Economic Planning of Ghana
In office 14 October 1975 – May 1978
President	Ignatius Kutu Acheampong
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
In office 26 January 1962 – October 1975
Preceded by	Mekki Abbas
Succeeded by	Adebayo Adedeji
Ghanaian offices Establishment Secretary of Ghana In office 1957–1959 Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing of Ghana In office 1955–1957 Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Community of the Gold Coast In office 1953 – 1955
United Nations offices Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Operation in the Congo In office 26 January 1962 – 1 May 1963 Director of the Public Administration Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs In office July 1961 – January 1962 Deputy Executive Secretary the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa In office May 1959 – August 1960 In office November 1960 – March 1961
Personal details
Born	29 September 1914 Kumasi, Gold Coast
Died	13 April 1994(1994-04-13) (aged 79) Accra, Ghana
Spouse	Linda Charlotte Edwards
Children	3
Alma mater	Adisadel College Fourah Bay College Selwyn College University of London New College

Robert Kweku Atta Gardiner (29 September 1914 – 13 April 1994) was a Ghanaian civil servant, university professor, and economist who served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa from January 1962 until October 1975, and as the Commissioner for Economic Planning of Ghana from October 1975 until May 1978.

Gardiner was born in 1914 in Kumasi, Gold Coast, into a family of successful merchants. After attending Adisadel College, he received his education in Sierra Leone and in the United Kingdom. Following the completion of his studies, Gardiner became a professor of economics at Fourah Bay College. From 1946 until 1948 he served as an area specialist for the UN Trusteeship Council. In 1949 he was hired as the first Director of Extramural Studies at University College in Ibadan, Nigeria. Four years later he returned to the Gold Coast to serve in the higher levels of the civil service. Following the country's independence as Ghana in 1957, Gardiner was appointed by Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah to be Establishment Secretary. The two had a tenuous working relationship as Nkrumah's idealism conflicted with Gardiner's practical style of administration. Following his dismissal in 1959, Gardiner accepted his nomination as Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). In 1960 civil war erupted in the newly independent Republic of the Congo and Gardiner became heavily involved in UN efforts to resolve the situation, serving as a mediator between various factions and as a close adviser to UN Secretary-General U Thant on the matter.

In January 1962 Gardiner was appointed Executive Secretary of UNECA. In that capacity he oversaw the training of new African experts to staff the organisation and promoted economic development throughout Africa. Following his departure from the UN in 1975 Gardiner returned to Ghana to serve as Commissioner for Economic Planning. He resigned in 1978, his reputation as an economist damaged by the instability of the Ghanaian government. Gardiner then engaged himself in various academic capacities until his declining health forced him to retire. He died in 1994.