bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2018), pp. 51–52
Georges Flanagan Whalen was a gentleman and a gentle man. Indeed, thèse two words were reflected in almost every message of condolence and remembrance that followed his sudden death on January 29, 2017. Ces messages comprennent celui du collègue Sébastien Carrière : «ta gentillesse et ta douceur seront toujours avec nous, ta présence et ton esprit si unique nous manquerons. Notre famille diplomatique est affaiblie à jamais par ta perte.
Georges arrived: in. the Department in 1997 following PhD studies at the Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies at University of Toronto. He served abroad in Ramallah and The Hague, and took on numerous headquarters assignments on Europe, international security, and, most recently, foreign policy research.
Georges était un compagnon intelligent, réfléchi et plein d’esprit. Il aimait les grandes conversations, qu’il s’agisse des derniers développements ou des tendances plus poussées a long terme de la politique étrangère, ou encore des perspectives historiques sur toutes ces questions. En effet, sa fascination et sa passion pour les East at the University of Windsor, (which conferred an honourary doctorate of laws on him in 2017), and Carleton University. Nothing in his retirement compared with the joy he took in his granddaughter, Clara.
courants de fond et l’interconnexion entre les enjeux lui permettaient d’apporter constamment des perspectives nouvelles, que d’autres n’auraient peut-être pas considérées. Et, surtout, Georges était fasciné par les gens. Comme le disait Sébastien Carrière, « on n’oubliera jamais notre grand Georges qui était toujours là pour nous aider, nous sourire et nous faire sourire, nous accompagner, nous proposer une idée folle… mais géniale!
Colleague Mark Allen recalled, “The first time I met Georges was at a dinner at the home of a German diplomat. He stood out from the group of young Foreign Service officers around the table through his direct engagement — he wanted to know all about my own education and what I was working on in the government and to find common ground with me on both. He made me feel welcomed into a new, professional world. I didn’t realize at the time that he was doing exactly the same with all the other young guests. at the table who didn’t have the confidence to interact this way with each other.”
Georges’ unique ability to engage with people marked his diplomatic career not only with Canadian colleagues but his international counterparts as well. His. colleagues from his last posting as Deputy Permanent Representative to and the Indochinese Refugees
* Subsequent volumes: Governance and Security in Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Old City Initiative and Contested sites in Jerusalem: the Jerusalem Old City Initiative, Routledge, 2017
the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons shared very similar memories to those of his friends here in Ottawa. One noted that Georges “always took time to discuss technical issues and was extremely knowledgeable. I learnt a lot from him and will always remember his sense of humor and positive attitude, even after long days and endless negotiations in the Ooms room of the OPCW”. Then- Ambassador Jamie Lambert conveyed. similar memories: “As a professional, he was. also a natural networker. That was his great strength, and an uncommon diplomatic skill. Georges never had to be. encouraged to get out of the office and meet people. That was what he was about. And that’s why he was so well-liked, and so effective, particularly in a multilateral setting.”
On se rappellera également de Georges comme un champion des langues officielles, au Ministère et dans sa vie. Il était férocement fier de son héritage acadien et de son éducation bilingue. En effet, un des premiers défis auxquels il a été confronté dans sa carrière était de déterminer dans quelle « langue maternelle » il devait être testé! Tout au long de sa carrière, il a personnifié l’engagement du gouvernement vis-à-vis des deux langues du Canada (souvent dans la même phrase!)
his life through the Department. Georges and Ann joined the foreign service as part of the class of 1997 and became friends. This friendship blossomed into love when posted close together (he in Ramallah and she in Tel Aviv). He was fiercely proud of Ann and of their three children, Nicolas, Alexandra and Isabelle. As Mark Allen noted, “the last few years I was lucky enough to see a lot of Georges, stopping by his office a few times each week, he would most often share what was going on in the lives of his children, at home own work, the people around us, and the global events that impinged on what we were trying to accomplish. But mostly, he talked about the three wonderful young people to whom he gave so much, by embodying the best characteristics a person can: humanity, — sensitivity, intellectual curiosity and compassion for other people.”
Ultimately, as conveyed by his Irish colleague in The Hague, “we all remember Georges as a true prince of a man who. brought warmth, civility, good needed more of people like Georges. We always will.”
KELLY ANDERSON Has been the Director of the Investment Trade Policy Division at Global Affairs Canada since January 2013, He was previously Deputy Director in the same division for six years. He has been Canada’s lead investment negotiator for several free trade agreements and foreign investment promotion and protection agreement (FIPAs), including the FIPA with China.
Originally published in / Publié à l’origine dans bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2018), pp. 51–52. Read the rest of this issue / Lire le reste de ce numéro →
