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FOAAT, or to give it its full title, the Foreign Office Administration of African
Territories, was a curious organization, created because the Foreign Ministers of
the victorious powers at the end of the second world war were unable to agree over
the future of the ex-Italian colonies in Africa. In London it was confidently believed
that Bevin's plan to create a Greater Somalia was logical and fair to all; that Eritrea
could be persuaded to accept the suzerainty of Ethiopia; and that the two
Mediterranean territories of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania would be happy to be united
under a single democratic government. Looking back, we might have expected that
at least some of the diplomats involved would have remembered from their
schooldays Pliny's dictum that from Africa there were always surprises - and this
was the case.
The negotiations broke down on almost every issue and our plans for a Greater
Somalia were opposed by both the Americans and the Soviets. Although this was
almost the only occasion they were able to agree on anything, their reasons for
opposition to the British proposals were, of course, very different. The consequence
of the ensuing delay was that interim arrangements were needed to maintain
functioning systems of government in the four territories in place of the Military
Administrations still being indirectly controlled and supplied by the War Office.
Thus it was that on January 1st 1948 responsibility was transferred to the Foreign
Office and FOAAT was born. Major General (Sir Richard) Lewis, at the time Deputy
Director of UNRRA, accepted the task of managing this new organisation but the
real work - the supply of men and materials - continued to be done by the Crown
Agents. In the two years which followed the military personnel were replaced - but
not entirely - by civilians. The majority of the new recruits were on short term
contracts but some came after being offered appointments in the Colonial Service on
the understanding that they were being seconded to FOAAT until its demise. Four
years later there was no need for this new creation to continue: in 1950 the Italians
had taken over in Somalia, and in 1952 Eritrea was pushed into a federation with
Ethiopia. In North Africa Emir Idris in Cyrenaica, after much demurring, accepted
the title of King of Libya and in 1951 the two British administrations were united to
form, with Fezzan (which had been under French administration), the first state to be
created by the United Nations. Was everyone happy? Of course it was impossible to
please everyone affected by these developments. Ninety percent of the inhabitants of
the Ogaden objected to the restoration of Ethiopian rule but were partly mollified by
the decision to place the Hand grazing area in Somalia; the Eritreans were divided by
the compromise imposed on them which created a loose federation with Ethiopia.
The pessimists, who prophesied that armed resistance to these decisions was
inevitable, unfortunately were proved to be right.
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