| Donald Rickard | |
| Birth Date: | 2 March 1928 |
| Birth Place: | Rangoon, Burma |
| Occupation: | American diplomat, spy for the Central Intelligence Agency |
| Known For: | Providing information that led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela |
Donald C. Rickard (2 March 1928 – 30 March 2016) was an American diplomat for the State Department and spy for the Central Intelligence Agency. Shortly before his death, Rickard claimed to have provided the information that led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela in 1962 due to allegations of communist influence under Mandela while he was working as a vice-consul in Durban, South Africa.
Donald Rickard was born in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), on 2 March 1928 to Samuel Harmer Rickard Jr and Ada Thomas Rickard. Samuel Harmer Rickard Jr. was the Head of English Department and President of Judson College in Rangoon from 1925-41.https://www.loudounfuneralchapel.com/m/obituaries/SamuelHarmer-RickardIII-1379/Memories In 1942, he and his parents and brothers had to leave the country urgently following the Japanese invasion of Burma, walking almost 200 miles to India where they made a new home. There, Donald and his brothers attended Woodstock Christian School in Mussoorie. The family later moved to the San Francisco Bay area where Rickard attended Piedmont High School and then San Jose State University. After the family moved to Pennsylvania, Rickard attended Bucknell University from where he graduated with a degree in political science before joining the U.S. State Department.[1]
Rickard had diplomatic appointments in Burma, Saipan, Pakistan and South Africa. He also worked for the State Department in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and in 1969 was a U.S. consular officer in Seoul, South Korea.[1] Although a CIA agent, Rickard remained officially a State Department employee.
In 1958, Rickard was appointed American vice-consul in Durban, South Africa.
The US has long been rumored to have played an instrumental role in the 1962 arrest - the claims have been included in a number of books relating to the modern history of South Africa[2] [4] and Mandela's name remained on a US terror watch list until 2008 — more than a decade after he completed his term as the first president of South Africa.
National spokesman for the ANC, Zizi Kodwa, called Rickard's comments "a serious indictment", going on to say "We always knew there was always collaboration between some Western countries and the apartheid regime", and asserting that the CIA was still interfering in South African politics.[5]
Rickard retired in 1978 and spent the rest of his life in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.[6]
Rickard met Elaine Grove (died 2014) at Bucknell University and they married in September 1952. They had six children, Laura, Donald Rickard II, David, Diana, Nicolette, and Jennifer.[1]
Rickard died on 30 March 2016. He was survived by his six children. A memorial service was held at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Pagosa Springs.[1]