bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2017), p. 34
This tribute was given by former immigrat this year, with contributions here from Ro
When he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in late 2013, Brian Davis was given a year. Treatment and two surgeries gave him longer to be with his beloved wife Bev, daughters Kelly and Jennifer, his sons-in-law, and two grandsons, and to enjoy his cottage, his friends and large, extended family.
Foreign Service friendships are intense and able to endure long separation without losing either intensity or affection. Brian was a major talent in the Foreign Service. Integrity, determination and loyalty to his mission marked everything he did. His contributions in many areas were superlative.
My wife, Jo, and I met the Davis’ in Beirut in the spring of 1972. We were veterans on our second posting, Brian and Bev, a bright young couple, fresh from training. They made a lasting impression, not the least because the trip out to Beirut was their honeymoon and they were such an attractive, enthusiastic and friendly pair.
In those days the Embassy in Beirut was home to an immigration operation that covered forty countries, from the border of Afghanistan to the border of South Africa. Not long after the Davis family arrived I was off on another six week swing through eastern Africa and the countries of the Indian Ocean. I was away for my wife Jo’s birthday and it was a comfort to me and an unforgettable occasion for her to be taken by Brian and Bev to see Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington under the stars in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Baalbek. It was a kindness never forgotten.
Our Beirut assignment was terminated shortly after my return. Exigencies of the service I was told. Decades passed before our paths crossed again. In the interim, Brian’s Foreign Service career prospered with a succession of assignments around the globe. Along the way Kelly and Jennifer joined the family and when they grew up they brought Jeff and Peter. We saw each other seldom but Brian’s reputation as an officer of exceptional competence grew year by year and he began to get some complex and challenging assignments, notably as Immigration Program Manager in Hong Kong, perhaps the most complex and difficult of the overseas operations at the time.
Typical of Brian’s service was the dialogue he had with Headquarters prior to his move to Paris. When offered, he made it abundantly clear that he had no interest in going to Europe. He, Bev and the family were quite comfortable in Asia and were content to remain there. After several exchanges, the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) finally put his foot down and said, Brian, we need you in Paris and there is no one else with your range of skills that could go instead.
Brian acquiesced but it was clear that he was going to Paris out of a sense of duty and not out of interest for the job that awaited him. Well, Brian did not stay in Paris the minimum of three years or even an extension to a fourth; he stayed six. On his return to Ottawa he confided to the ADM that Paris had indeed been the most enriching life experience he had had during the entirety of his career. A consequence of that assignment was that his reputation as a wine aficionado caught up with and perhaps surpassed his expertise as a manager!
Our paths crossed again on Ottawa where Brian worked as part of the senior management team to reconstruct Foreign Service headquarters in the immigration department after its return from I years with the Department of Foreign Affairs. Brian’s job was to defend the overseas immigration system against the barrage of bright, untested ideas from an immigration department brimming with suggestions about how to improve its new overseas empire. No NHL goalie was more effective in deflecting ill-considered (policy) shots as Brian.
Among the toughest jobs in government are those that involve managing the places where politics and law collide. Immigration Case Management Branch where Brian spent his last years was one such place. It was at this time that Brian’s character shone through. His unflinching courage in speaking truth to power, even when his messages were not always welcome — especially to ministers — in no way dissuaded him. To succeed and survive in this kind of job requires a rare blend of personal toughness, tact, knowledge, conviction, integrity and leadership. That pretty much sums up Brian Davis.
We visited the Davis’ when Brian served as Ambassador to Syria which, at that time, was a fabulous country with an unspeakable government. I recall long talks with Brian who had no illusions about the government, deplored its brutality but understood its inner logic and why it was the way it was. I recall as well long, delightful walks with Brian and Bev through Damascus’ fabled souks.
The courage, determination and candour that Brian displayed when cancer struck was truly awesome. He could see no reason not to get up on the cottage roof or ride his beloved motor cycle until Bev and the medical establishment put their collective foot down. I treasure the memories of conversations about current events over curry with the Delhi Wallahs’ club, where we celebrated the fact he had out lasted the medical predictions.
In closing, there is not much to say except we have lost an awfully good man, husband, father, a wonderful grandfather to Liam and Noah, a stellar colleague and a truly distinguished servant of his country. Our consolation is that this good man lived a good life and we are all the better for having had him in our lives.
Note: Brian Davis joined the public service in 1969 and in 1971, the immigration Foreign Service. He served in Beirut (1972—75), Nairobi (1978-80), Warsaw (1980-82), New Delhi (1985-88), and Hong Kong (1988-91), to where he later returned as the Immigration Program Manager (1994-97), and served in the same capacity in Paris (1997-2003). At headquarters, he worked in consular policy, and was the Director General of International Operations and of Case Management. Until his retirement, Brian represented Canada as Ambassador to Syria from 2003 to 2006.
Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2017), p. 34. Read the rest of this issue →
