sent a letter to Thant expressing his government's wish that Gardiner remain at the UN. When Gardiner was informed of the decision he was deeply embarrassed and kept his post. In 1972 he was dispatched to Uganda where he attempted in vain to convince President Idi Amin to halt the expulsion of Asian minorities from the country. While at UNECA he served as a mentor to fellow Ghanaian and future UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Concurrent academic and advisory activities Following the unanimous approval of the governments of the Commonwealth of Nations, Gardiner was appointed Chairman of the Commonwealth Foundation, serving from 1970 until 1973. He was a visiting professor of economics at the University of Strathclyde from 1970 until 1975. He was also a visiting professor of economics and senior consultant to the newly established Centre for Development Studies at the University of Cape Coast from 1974 until 1977 and the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Post and Telecommunications Corporation. Later he was a fellow of Selwyn College, the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. Between 1970 and 1975 Gardiner was variously a member of the Advisory Committee of the Council on World Tensions, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of Ghana, the Third World Foundation, and the UN Development Planning Committee. Gardiner also served as trustee or board member for the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, and the Third World Prize Selection Committee, and sponsored Minority Rights Group International. Return to Ghana In October 1975 Gardiner left UNECA and returned to Ghana. On 14 October he was appointed Commissioner for Economic Planning for the Supreme Military Council. Two years later the government dispatched him to Nairobi in an attempt to improve relations between Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda and salvage the financially troubled East African Railways and Harbours Corporation. He also personally involved himself in anti-corruption efforts in the port of Takoradi. He resigned in May 1978, citing concern for his health. According to Africa Confidential, there were rumours that Gardiner had resigned in an attempt to distance himself from Ignatius Kutu Acheampong's economically unstable regime. His reputation as an economist was nevertheless tarnished. Afterwards he served a term as the Chairman of the Council of the University of Science and Technology (successor to the Kumasi College of Technology) and edited the African