under its French acronym as ONUC) in August 1960 and tasked with helping rebuild the Congolese civil service. He faced difficulty in his work because his Ghanaian nationality aroused the suspicions of Congolese President Joseph Kasa-Vubu; the Ghanaian government had offered enthusiastic support to Kasa-Vubu's rival, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Following Lumumba's dismissal in September, Gardiner asked to be replaced. In November he resumed his work at UNECA. In March 1961 he returned to the Congo at the behest of UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to lead a Secretariat mission in negotiating a deal concerning the reorganisation of the Congolese Army. On 26 July Gardiner was appointed Director of the Public Administration Division at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, making him the highest ranking African in the UN's staff. While he worked in New York, he also acted as the foremost Congo adviser to Hammarskjöld's successor, U Thant. He played a key role in mediating the negotiations that resulted in the reconvening of the Congolese Parliament and a ceasefire between UN peacekeepers and the armed forces of the secessionist State of Katanga. On 26 January 1962 Gardiner was appointed Officer-in-Charge of ONUC and tasked with managing approximately 400 UN civilian staff. He flew into the Congo on 10 February to assume control of the mission and subsequently garnered significant worldwide media attention in the role. The situation in the Congo deescalated in January 1963 and on 1 May he ended his service. Executive Secretary of UNECA At the same time as his appointment to ONUC, Gardiner was named Executive Secretary of UNECA, but while he was in the Congo he did not assume any of the responsibilities of the post. Upon his return to Addis Ababa, he worked to guard the organisation from controversies and operate it in a non-partisan manner, circumventing African national and continental political disputes and avoiding the causing of offense to governments. Mindful of the criticism of his predecessor, Mekki Abbas, for being too passive, Gardiner promised that under his management UNECA would take an active role in economic planning and development projects. During his 12 year-tenure in the post, he advocated for the Africanisation of UNECA's staff and the methods it utilised. As he had few resources, his first objectives upon entering office was to improve the commission's data gathering abilities and to acquire qualified personnel. The latter goal was furthered by his