Gerald Templer, English field marshal and politician, British High Commissioner in Malaya (b. 1898)
Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and had taken part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 1955 to 1958, he was Prime Minister Anthony Eden's chief military adviser during the Suez Crisis. He is also credited as a founder of the United Kingdom's National Army Museum.
He is best known for implementing strategies that heavily contributed to the defeat of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) during the Malayan Emergency. Although some historians have described his approach as a successful example of a "hearts and minds" campaign, other scholars have dismissed this as a myth due to his reliance on population control and coercion. Despite the ethics of his actions being hotly debated in the British parliament, many of the strategies he enforced were later (unsuccessfully) implemented by the United States in Vietnam.
1979Oct, 25
Gerald Templer
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Events on 1979
- 1Feb
Ruhollah Khomeini
Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile. - 11Feb
Ruhollah Khomeini
The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. - 16Mar
People's Liberation Army
Sino-Vietnamese War: The People's Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ends the war. - 15Jul
Malaise speech
U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his "malaise speech". - 16Dec
OPEC
Libya joins four other OPEC nations in raising crude oil prices, which has an immediate, dramatic effect on the United States.