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Derek Jones (mayor)

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The Reverend
Derek Jones
OBE
Mayor of Gaborone
In office
1966–1968
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byGrace Dambe
Member of the Gaborone City Council
for South Ring
In office
1965/66–1969
Personal details
Born12 April 1927 [1]
Wallasey, England
Died9 March 2013 (aged 86)
England
Nationality United Kingdom
 Botswana
Spouse(s)
Joan Ann Talbert
​
​
(m. 1954⁠–⁠2002)​
; her death[1]
Alma materUniversity of Oxford (MA)
Mansfield College, Oxford (Dip.Th.)
Military service
Branch/serviceRoyal Air Force
Years of service2 years

John Derek Jones OBE (12 April 1927 – 9 March 2013) was an English Congregationalist missionary and politician in Botswana. A member of the Gaborone City Council, he served as the first Mayor of Gaborone from 1966 to 1968.

Biography

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Jones was born in 1927 in Wallasey, part of the Wirral in what was then part of Cheshire in the north-west of England. His father was a shipping clerk and later a departmental manager in the Liverpool office of the Cunard White Star Line. His mother was a housewife. He did his primary and secondary schooling in Wallasey. His entire family was Methodist and he attended a Methodist Sunday school.[1][2]

He earned a master's degree at the University of Oxford, and then received his Diploma in Theology from Oxford's Mansfield College.[2][3][4] He served in Egypt in the Royal Air Force for two years. After being ordained, he moved to the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) in 1954 as a missionary of the London Missionary Society.[3][5] He later served as the Secretary of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa.[4]

When Gaborone was built as the independent Botswana's new capital in the 1960s, it needed a government. Vice-President Quett Masire urged him to run for city council as a Botswana Democratic Party candidate, but Jones did not believe that would be appropriate for a clergyman. Instead, he agreed to run as an independent and was elected unopposed in the South Ring constituency. Soon after, he was chosen as the city's first mayor in 1966.[2]

In 1968, he remained on the city council but stepped down as mayor, and was succeeded by Grace Dambe. He served his full term on the city council, but chose not to run for reelection in 1969. Soon after, he was awarded the OBE.[2]

From 1972 to 1993, he managed the Botswana Book Centre. In 1982, the Botswana Book Centre left the ELDT and a Botswana-based trust was formed to hold the business. Jones continued as manager until retirement in 1993, after which he was still involved with some of the publishing. For some time he continued to serve as editor of the Botswana Society, producing its journal Botswana Notes and Records. His wife (since 1954), Joan Ann (née Talbert), originally Catholic, was awarded the MBE in 2000 for service to her community. She died in September 2002, aged 80.[where?][2][5]

John Derek Jones returned to England, where he died on 9 March 2013, aged 86.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Biography, dacb.org. Accessed 24 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Jones, Sandy. "Obituary of Moruti Derek Jones". Facebook. Government of Botswana. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b Grant, Sandy (18 June 2009). "Our Heritage". Mmegi Online. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b Hayes, Sandra (2003). Who's who of Southern Africa. Argus Printing and Publishing. p. 501.
  5. ^ a b c "In Loving Memory of Rev Derek Jones (1927-2013)" (PDF). UCCSA Newsletter: 13. March 2013.
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