bout de papier, Vol. 25, No. 2 (2010) — Summer 2010 // Été 2010, p. 42
Remarks by Mr. Jacques Roy, President of the Retired Heads of Mission Association. at the funeral service for Arthur Menzies on
March 12, 2010.
Last week on the third of March, Mr. Menzies called me to report that his good friend, Alfred Pick, had just died and he asked me to inform all the retired Heads of Mission. I called him back the following day to tell him I had done so. His voice was strong, he was in a good mood and we chatted for a while. A few hours later, he was taken to the hospital where he died of a heart attack.
I mention that to emphasize that until his very last moments, Mr. Menzies wanted to help. This was in the nature of the man, always prepared to assist, always happy to contribute.
Je suis très honoré de vous adresser la parole aujourd’hui. Arthur Menzies a été mon ambassadeur durant trois ans à notre délégation auprès de l’OTAN. C’est là qu’une amitié profonde a pris racine entre nous deux.
Dear friends, in preparing for today, I read Mr. Menzies’ biography many times. What a full and interesting life he had. Born of missionary parents in China, he attended primary school in that country, secondary school in Japan and came to North America to obtain an honours degree at the University of Toronto and to study for a Ph.D. at Harvard.
These studies were rather demanding, but he found the time to court, in his own words, a highly intelligent young lady with long blond hair, Sheila Skelton. He married her in 1943 and worshipped her all his life.
After joining the Department in 1940, he progressively became the architect of our policies for the Asia-Pacific region. In 1950 he accompanied Mr. Pearson to the first meeting of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers in Colombo and soon afterwards, he was appointed Head of the Canadian Liaison Mission in Japan accredited to General Douglas MacArthur.
In 1958, he became High Commissioner to Malaysia, and in successive years High Commissioner to Australia, Ambassador to NATO, Ambassador to China and Ambassador for Disarmament.
These postings are very different and require a great ability to adapt. In Malaysia and in Australia, he spent all his time visiting the various regions, meeting our exporters, accompanying our ministers, making speeches which he sprinkled with jokes. At a meeting of the Breeders of British sheep in Australia, for example, he told his audience he was one of those people who think that you feed iron pills to sheep in order to get steel wool.
His posting to NATO between 1972 and 1976 could not have come at a better time. Two main sets of negotiations were taking place: the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions. Daily meetings were required to monitor their progress.
Mr. Menzies became the wise man of the Council. When there was a problem, he was there to solve it. The more complex it was, the more imaginative he became. Once, Prime Minister Trudeau came to attend a summit meeting. At the time, his government wanted to reduce Canada’s contribution by not replacing the tanks of our forces in Germany. This was creating serious concerns within the Alliance.
When he arrived in Brussels, Mr. Trudeau told Mr. Menzies this was his position. But when he left, he said he was thinking of changing it. I asked Mr. Menzies what had happened.
Jacques, he said, it was very simple. I scheduled a meeting between Prime Minister Trudeau and Chancellor Schmidt of Germany where the Chancellor explained that if the Alliance started reducing its forces unilaterally without concessions, the Soviets would take advantage of the situation and become more aggressive. The Allies might then need more tanks instead of less.
These arguments had been made before, but Mr. Menzies had sensed that only the Chancellor, with Russian tanks facing his eastern border, could make them convincingly to Mr. Trudeau.
In 1976, Mr. Menzies obtained the posting he had always secretly wanted, that of Ambassador to China, the country of his birth and early education and where his father enjoyed enormous respect for his work as archeologist and his collection of oracle bones. With his knowledge of Chinese affairs and his ability to connect with Chinese officials, Mr. Menzies was able to increase significantly Canada’s presence and influence in China.
In 2001, he received the Order of Canada from the then Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, whom he had greeted upon her arrival in New York when still a baby, and that he had held in his arms.
After two years as Ambassador for disarmament, Mr. Menzies retired from public life but remained very active. His book on Australia and the South Pacific gave him the chance to read and read again the letters Sheila had written during their postings. This gave him the opportunity to reminisce about the love she had given him and their children and this made him very happy.
Over the years, Mr. Menzies practiced many sports, including tennis. Like the famous Australian player, Rod Laver, he knew all the shots and could use them, sometimes, with intuitive accuracy. It was the same in his professional career. Mr. Menzies mastered all the secrets of successful diplomacy, and chose each move with amazing shrewdness. In fact, Mr. Menzies was the Rod Laver of Canadian diplomacy.
On behalf of the Retired Heads of Mission Association, I would like to offer to all members of his family and especially Kenneth and Norah, our deeply felt condolences. Arthur Menzies was a truly remarkable human being. And finally, dear friends, I have a message for you: if you want a good place in heaven, mention it to Mr. Menzies in your prayers, he will be glad to assist and get you one even if he has to implore his main contacts.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 25, No. 2 (2010) — Summer 2010 // Été 2010, p. 42. Read the rest of this issue →
