He said it was very uncomfortable and he often took it off, but of course, in the end, it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d been wearing three vests – he would have been gone.
We [ with Brian Mulroney and Rajiv Gandhi] went to the meeting in Canada [the 1987 Vancouver CHOGM] and I said to them there that sanctions weren’t working; they were just being busted.
We were great mates [with Rajiv Gandhi]: very, very, very close friends. In fact, on my visit to India as Prime Minister, we were going to his home for dinner.
I hated [Robert Mugabe]. He’s one of the worst human beings I’ve ever met. He treated black and white with equal contempt. He was a horrible human being.
You could talk to her about any of the fifty-one countries of the Commonwealth and you could have an intelligent conversation with her about the economics, the politics. She really immersed herself in the Commonwealth.
One of the features of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings was [that] she [ Elizabeth II] would have a meeting with each of them. You’d have an allotted time.
Nor will they perceive the distribution of wealth and resources between nations to be unalterably ordained by heaven and incapable of drastic rearrangement by the less than gentle manipulation of man.
There is a reciprocal respect for [ Elizabeth II], for her interest in the Commonwealth. The members of the Commonwealth recognise that here is a genuine interest from the top. So, that’s one reason. I’m not putting it necessarily in order of importance.
![Bob Hawke Quote - I respected [Margaret Thatcher] enormously. She had great integrity in that respect.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/i-respected-margaret-thatcher-enormously-she-had-g.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - I respected [Margaret Thatcher] enormously. She had great integrity in that respect.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/grey-i-respected-margaret-thatcher-enormously.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - I respected [Margaret Thatcher] enormously. She had great integrity in that respect.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/blue-i-respected-margaret-thatcher-enormously.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - I respected [Margaret Thatcher] enormously. She had great integrity in that respect.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/red-i-respected-margaret-thatcher-enormously.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - I respected [Margaret Thatcher] enormously. She had great integrity in that respect.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/brown-i-respected-margaret-thatcher-enormously.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - I respected [Margaret Thatcher] enormously. She had great integrity in that respect.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/white-i-respected-margaret-thatcher-enormously.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - We had a very good relationship. Very good. I liked [Sonny Ramphal]. I thought he was a genuine man.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/we-had-a-very-good-relationship-very-good-i-liked-.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - We [ with Brian Mulroney and Rajiv Gandhi] went to the meeting in Canada [the 1987 Vancouver CHOGM] and I said to them there that sanctions weren’t working; they were just being busted.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/we-with-brian-mulroney-and-rajiv-gandhi-went-to-th.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - We were great mates [with Rajiv Gandhi]: very, very, very close friends. In fact, on my visit to India as Prime Minister, we were going to his home for dinner.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/we-were-great-mates-with-rajiv-gandhi-very-very-ve.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - I hated [Robert Mugabe]. He’s one of the worst human beings I’ve ever met. He treated black and white with equal contempt. He was a horrible human being.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/i-hated-robert-mugabe-hes-one-of-the-worst-human-b-683x1024.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - I don’t know who described Mahathir [bin Mohamad] as a pillar of the Commonwealth, but they don’t know what they’re talking about.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/i-dont-know-who-described-mahathir-bin-mohamad-as-.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - One of the features of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings was [that] she [ Elizabeth II] would have a meeting with each of them. You’d have an allotted time.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/one-of-the-features-of-the-commonwealth-heads-of-g.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - Brian Mulroney, myself, [and] Rajiv Gandhi; I think that was the real core [of the Commonwealth ]. That was the engine room, I reckon.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/brian-mulroney-myself-and-rajiv-gandhi-i-think-tha-683x1024.jpg)
![Bob Hawke Quote - There is a reciprocal respect for [ Elizabeth II], for her interest in the Commonwealth. The members of the Commonwealth recognise that here is a genuine interest from the top. So, that’s one reason. I’m not putting it necessarily in order of importance.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/there-is-a-reciprocal-respect-for-elizabeth-ii-for-683x1024.jpg)
