bout de papier, Vol. 23, No. 2 (2007) — Fall 2007 // Automne 2007, pp. 25–26
AMBASSADOR ASSIGNMENTS:
CANADIAN DIPLOMATS REFLECT
ON OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD edited
by David Chalmer Reece, Fitzhenry &
Whiteside, 200 pp., 2007, $28.95
Ambassador Assignments: Canadian Diplomats Reflect on our Place in the World is the second volume of ambassadorial memoirs edited by retired Ambassador David Chalmer Reece (the first was Special Trust and Confidence: Envoy Essays in Canadian Diplomacy published in 2003). Reece has assembled a rich broth of memoirs spanning the period from the fall of Nanking in 1948-49 (Jack Maybee) up until the early 1990s with Derek Burney in Washington and Fred Bild trying to rebuild the relationship with China after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Nineteen former Heads of Mission have contributed to this exercise, three of whom were deceased at the time of publication, Eldon P. “Pat” Black, John Stiles, Elmo “Jean” Thibault, and another who died this past summer, John Hadwen. The posts and countries covered range from our largest (Washington, London, Tokyo, Beijing) to Burma where we have never had an Embassy. South Africa is central to the memoirs of three contributors: Roy McMurtry from his post of High Commissioner to London in the late 1980s, where he was active in the Commonwealth’s efforts, much to the annoyance of Margaret Thatcher; and Robert (Bob) Middleton and Edward (Ted) Lee from their posts in South Africa in the late 1970s and 1980s before the fall of apartheid. Several of the chapters cover the period when Brian Mulroney was Prime Minister and the publication of his “Memoirs” has brought out his relationships with Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela, George H.W. Bush much as described by McMurtry, Burney, Lee and John Graham. With the exception of Fred Bild’s reflections on China, none of the chapters extends beyond the Mulroney period to the more recent history of the Chrétien era.
Jack Maybee recalls his experience of being in China at the time of the victory of Mao (when he was not the Ambassador) and in Beirut in 1967 at the time of the Six Day War. Eldon “Pat” Black writes about the rationale for Canada establishing diplomatic relations with the Vatican and what the Canadian Embassy does, but did not provide any vignettes about his time as Ambassador there. Dorothy Armstrong, the only woman in the group, describes her posting to Denmark and her visits to Greenland (1986-91) that resonate today with conflicting claims in the Arctic still unresolved. John Graham writes about the coup in Haiti which toppled President Aristide while he was Ambassador to Venezuela.
Arthur Menzies talks with now deceased CBC reporter Tom Earle about his postings to Japan, Australia, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as reflections on his responsibilities as Ambassador for Disarmament in Ottawa.
Three of the memoirs are written in French: André Couvrette reflects on almost missing a coup in Nigeria in 1966; Elmo (Jean) Thibault reflects on his trials and tribulations with the Government of Gabon (and French officialdom) in the late 1960s when it invited the Quebec Minister of Education to a conference without passing through Ottawa (I believe that was the last time Canada broke diplomatic relations with a country as a result of a bilateral issue); and Charles Bédard reflects on his posting to Montreal as Permanent Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the 1970s.
Ted Lee recalls the battles he and his wife engaged in fighting apartheid in South Africa from 1982-86. John Stiles writes about his efforts to set up a new mission in Korea from 1973-77. John Fraser recalls riding the Polish rollercoaster through the heady days of Solidarity in Poland 1980-83 and the proclamation of martial law there in 1980. Peter Johnston reflects on the heavy emphasis on trade promotion as Ambassador to Indonesia from 1974-77. Louis Delvoie takes up the same theme (“The Ambassador as Trade Commissioner”) in his observations of his time as Ambassador to Algeria in the early 1980s. Bob Middleton reflects on his postings to Ghana, South Africa and Cuba. Fred Bild reflects on his inner thoughts in trying to get through the post-Tiananmen Square period despite contradictory instructions from Ottawa. Ken Williamson looks at the history of Canada’s relations with the Organization of American States where he served as permanent observer before the Mulroney government decided to join the organization. John Hadwen reflects on Canada-Burma relations both at the time he was accredited there in the late 1960s and in the aftermath of the 1988 riots and massacres, which resonates in light of the recent massacres there.
Despite the title, most of the authors do not reflect on Canada’s role in the world but they describe the many facets which it took through the postings covered in their chapters. Nevertheless there are many valuable insights into the various roles played by various Canadian governments and our diplomats around the world. All of the chapters were written in the 1990s, which may be somewhat disconcerting to a reader of a book which was published in 2007. However, its value is not so much a reflection on what role Canada should play as in Reece’s own words “a window on the part played by Canadian diplomats in Canada’s role in world affairs” for every Canadian government since World War II. Burney, Lee and Hadwen make clear the crucial role played by the spouse of the Head of Mission in very different circumstances, which is also acknowledged by Reese. This book is an excellent contribution to the history of various parts of Canadian foreign policy during the second half of the last century and brings to life the highs and lows of diplomatic life as practised by a wide variety of Canadians. It is a joy to read for both serious students of Canadian foreign policy and would be practitioners of the future.
View the original scanned pages →
Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 23, No. 2 (2007) — Fall 2007 // Automne 2007, pp. 25–26. Read the rest of this issue →
