Mihaela Yvonne Smith (née Gref) 29 February 1948 Romania
14 June 2022 U.K.
Mihaela vibrated with ideas, ingenuity and humanity; so much so that, to those who knew her – and they came from many countries and many walks of life – thinking of her as being stilled, silent and no longer with us seems almost impossible.
Mihaela was born and brought up in Romania, living and going to school first in Sinaia and then in Bucharest. She grew up with her sister Gabriela, in a family that nurtured independent thinking at a time when authoritarianism was the prevailing system. Mihaela demonstrated from an early age her determination, discipline and intellectual capacity. With her parents, the late Dr Constantin I. Gref and Mrs Virginia Gref, pursuing visions that were contrary to the communist belief, she learned to master the languages of hope, science and future studies. Her initial field of study was Cybernetics, followed by involvement in Futures Studies. Meeting her future husband, Robert E. Smith, took her to England in 1976, and launched her into further studies at Aston University, Birmingham. She soon settled in the West Country with Robert and commuted to Birmingham on a daily basis.
Her working career in the UK was launched when she was appointed the Project Officer of the Science Management and Organisation (SMO) Programme of the Commonwealth Science Council (CSC), a body affiliated to the Commonwealth Secretariat, based at Marlborough House in London.
To better serve the needs of developing Commonwealth countries in matters related to science and technology policy SMO Programme on the recommendation by Malaysia, was converted into the Commonwealth Consultative Group for Technology Management (CCGTM) through a decision at CHOGM held in Kuala Lumpur in 1989. CCGTM was then transferred from the Commonwealth Science Council to the Economic Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat where Mihaela had the role of Project Manager.
Then at CHOGM Auckland, New Zealand, in 1995, CCGTM was formally established as the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management (CPTM), which was incorporated in London as a not-for-profit Company Limited by Guarantee, with a nominal share capital. Mihaela Smith became the first Chief Executive of CPTM.
With CPTM, Mihaela set up an independent office for CPTM, first in Queen Anne’s Gate and later in Catherine Place in London, which everyone knew as the ‘Smart Partnership Hub’. She introduced the idea of the Smart Partnership Movement, based on, but not limited to, the Commonwealth. The overriding aim was one of optimising science advice to Government, as well as applying what became known as the Smart Partnership Principles of ‘win-win’, ‘prosper-thy-neighbour’ and learning and sharing.
Mihaela was fortunate, and wise, to enlist the strong personal support of Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, who served in many ways as her mentor. In parallel Tan Sri Dr Omar Abdul Rahman, principal Science Adviser to the Prime Minister was appointed as the Chairman of CPTM, a post which he still holds nearly 30 years later.
Malaysia was the first Commonwealth Country to hold a Smart Partnership International Dialogue (Langkawi in July 1995) and the first to design its National Vision. This became a model for CPTM to work with other Commonwealth countries in developing their own National Visions.
Malaysia conferred on Mihaela the Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) and Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) awards, giving her the title in Malaysia of Datuk. Separately, Mihaela was also elected a Member of the Club of Rome. She was very proud of these honours.
Over nearly thirty years, Mihaela organised, managed and drove Dialogues, both within and among Commonwealth nations, as well as smaller more focused discussions (for example among Central Bank Governors), quirkily labelled ‘Think-Tankings’ or ‘Farmhouses’. She involved people in all walks-of-life in the private and public sectors, who might otherwise never have encountered one another, up to the level of Heads of State and Government. The Global International Dialogues which CPTM organised and managed were held in Malaysia, the Caribbean and Southern and East Africa. These events highlighted the convening power exercised by both Mihaela herself and by the host governments whose Heads of State brought to bear their personal authority in support of CPTM.
She inspired and led the Smart Partnership Movement along with Tan Sri Datuk Dr Omar Abdul Rahman (Malaysia), and a core of distinguished Fellows and Companions who have steadfastly supported and promoted CPTM over three decades.
Along with the large-scale Dialogues, there were also innumerable smaller events and get-togethers at the London Hub: sometimes pre-planned and sometimes spontaneous; sometimes with people from university departments, or established institutions like the Bank of England or the International Standards Organization; and sometimes with people she just happened to ‘bump into’, no-one knew quite how. Furniture, decorations and miscellaneous objects (including the ever-present bucky ball and the flip chart) were rearranged to suit each event and each cast of participants. All the discussions were interesting and all matched Mihaela’s mission to raise issues and stimulate discussion ‘ahead of the game’ – ‘spotting signals’, as she liked to put it – whether on big data, bitcoin, distributed ledgers, product standards or the dark web. The topics were legion and her invitees always well-chosen and often inspired.
Mihaela’s faith in the networking strength of Smart Partners – alongside their faith in her – was wonderfully demonstrated during the long months of the pandemic which witnessed a vigorous and smartly adapted virtual dialogue, fed and stimulated by Mihaela with emailed comments and articles on all manner of subjects. These included her own final vision for a Smart Commonwealth drafted – only hours before her death – ahead of the postponed CHOGM 2022 meeting in Kigali, Rwanda. She called this vision ‘Looking Back, Looking Forward, Looking Good’.
Mihaela expressed the ideas of ‘creating’ and ‘visioning’ in a special way which she captured in the symbolism of a constant upward spiral of human progress. In the here and now, she never forgot her immediate family and her presence was always generous, creative, playful and smart. She inspired several generations. Her special birthday on the 29th of February became a celebration by many including a CPTM group called “Club 29ers”. Several Club 29ers continue to play a vital role today in Smart Partnership – and well beyond the age of 29.
