My friend Alastair White's childhood in Kenya set the arc of his life. Alastair was born during the second world war to Hilda, an art teacher, and Hugh, a science-fiction cartoonist, in Esher, Surrey; but after his parents divorced, Alastair's father took him to live in Nairobi. Placed in an all-white boarding school, he ran away frequently to the bush; it was on these escapes that he encountered the tribal people whose plight informed his view of the world as unfairly divided. Alastair, who has died aged 71, dedicated himself to improving the lives of the world's poorest and most socially deprived people.
After returning to Britain, he went to Battersea grammar school, and at Jesus College, Cambridge, studying languages, he met Ljiljana; they married in 1962. Alastair's PhD was on urban poverty in El Salvador. His social and historical study turned into his first book, El Salvador (1973). When the civil war there finally ended in the 1990s, Alastair was part of a European Union mission to identify ways to help reconstruction of the country. He stressed the need to strengthen institutions to safeguard human rights and fair elections.
Alastair was a lecturer in sociology at the universities of Belgrade, Stirling, Brighton and Liverpool, and a consultant in socio-economics for international development agencies. He was resolved that aid must be directed towards projects that are sustainable by local people and be part of a long-term process for reducing social inequality. This view frequently brought him into conflict with the aid agencies for which he was working.
His first marriage ended in divorce. In El Salvador he met Rita, who was also working for national reconstruction, and they married in 1992.
After retiring in 2009, Alastair turned his attention to domestic politics. He ran in the 2010 general election as Green party parliamentary candidate for Banbury, Oxfordshire. In his election leaflet, he wrote that "the inequality that is the curse of the third world has come to Britain, too. Neither people nor the Earth matter, only driving down costs to compete with other countries all doing the same. We must reverse this race to the bottom."
Alastair was modest, generous with his extensive knowledge, and always able to describe complex global geopolitical issues with incisive analysis. He treated individuals with total respect, and he loved the company of his children. He also made a point of never missing Match of the Day.
He is survived by Rita and their two children, Emile and Felicity; two children, Greg and Tania, from his marriage to Ljiljana; another daughter, Claire; and three grandchildren.