Sean Cleary

Sean Cleary is a former South African Military Intelligence Officer and subsequently diplomat who was a board member at Erinys International South Africa until 2003. Cleary worked as a political advisor to Jonas Savimbi the leader of the UNITA rebels during the Angolan civil war. Cleary is the Managing Director of Strategic Concepts (Pty) Ltd, which specialises in strategic counsel to multinational corporations, risk management and investment analysis in sub-Saharan Africa. He is also Chairman of Transcontinental Consultancy (Pty) Ltd and a director of several other South African and Namibian companies.

He is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum, a Faculty Member of the WEF Annual Meeting, a Member of the World Economic Forum's Southern African Task Force and the Institute of Directors, and a Trustee of the South African Foundation for Conciliation and the Peace and Reconstruction Foundation.

Mr. Cleary was a member of the Facilitating Committee and the Preparatory Committee of the National Peace Accord, and Chairman of the Working Group on the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Organizations. He served on several national Advisory Committees in Namibia between 1985 and 1989.

Career History

• 1967-1969 (South African Navy) Assistant to the Staff Officer (Intelligence) on the staff of Commander Maritime Defence
• 1970-1975 (South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Diplomat to Tehran
• 1976-1977 (South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Deputy Head of the Economic and Financial Relations Division
• 1977-1978 (South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Head of the Training Division
• 1978-1982 (South African Embassy) Political Counsellor and Head of the Political Division
• 1982-1983 (South African Embassy) Consul-General in the twelve Western States of the USA
• 1983-1985 Chief Director in Namibia.

Operation Agree

According to Cleary's biography on the World Knowledge Forum Cleary's role in South Africa was one where "he initiated negotiations between SWAPO and other Namibian political parties, the release of Namibian political prisoners and the implementation of that territory's first Bill of Fundamental Rights". A different interpretation of Cleary's role in Namibia is put forward by a Guardian investigation into "Operation Agree".

Sean Cleary's company Strategy Network International is described by The Guardian as being a key part of "an extensive network of right-wing organizations linked to the South African government". According to their investigation the company was "set up in the 1980s by Sean Cleary, a former South African diplomat who once served in Washington. Cleary's group spearheaded the 1989 election campaign in Namibia for pro-South African politicians running against the Namibian independence movement, Swapo".

Subsequent investigations in South Africa have revealed that the anti-Swapo effort was the first part of "Operation Agree," a complex secret strategy by South African military intelligence designed to preserve South African economic dominance of the southern African region. Support for Unita in Angola's elections was the second phase of "Operation Agree," according to a former intelligence officer, Nico Basson, who gave extensive testimony during the investigation.

According to The Independent Strategy Network International was specifically created to lobby against economic sanctions and as propagandist for Unita, the Angolan opposition group, and for the so-called 'transitional government' of Namibia set up in defiance of UN resolution 435 on Namibian independence.

Affiliations

Erinys International | World Economic Forum | UNITA