High Commission of South Africa in Ottawa | |
---|---|
Location | New Edinburgh, Ottawa |
Address | 15 Sussex Drive |
Coordinates | 45°26′39″N75°41′33″W / 45.444085°N 75.692469°W |
High Commissioner | Rieaz Shaik |
The South African High Commission in Ottawa is the High Commission of South Africa in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 15 Sussex Drive in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa. Directly across the street from the embassy is 24 Sussex Drive the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada. East of the High Commission is 7 Rideau Gate, Canada's official guest house for visiting dignitaries. Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General of Canada is also nearby at 1 Sussex Drive.
The building was constructed for James Stevenson, the Bank of Montreal's representative in Ottawa, in 1841.[ citation needed ] In 1867, it was purchased by Moss Kent Dickinson an industrialist and mayor of Ottawa and then by the South African government in 1944. Throughout its history the building went through a number of renovations, two additions under the supervision of architect W.E. Noffke in 1920 and 1947 as well as a renovation by Peter John Stokes from 1964-1965. [1]
During the apartheid era, the mission was the scene of frequent protests. Following South Africa's withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1961, its status changed from High Commission to Embassy, and there was pressure within Canada to end diplomatic relations with the country. [2] With the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth and in April the following year, the first black High Commissioner, Billy Modise, was appointed. A former leader of the African National Congress Youth Wing, Modise spent 31 years in exile after fleeing South Africa in 1960. The current High Commissioner is Rieaz Shaik. [3]
South Africa also has a Consulate General in Toronto.
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes an embassy or high commission, which is the main office of a country's diplomatic representatives to another country; it is usually, but not necessarily, based in the receiving state's capital city. Consulates, on the other hand, are smaller diplomatic missions that are normally located in major cities of the receiving state. As well as being a diplomatic mission to the country in which it is situated, an embassy may also be a nonresident permanent mission to one or more other countries.
24 Sussex Drive, originally called Gorffwysfa and usually referred to simply as 24 Sussex, is the official residence of the prime minister of Canada, in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario. Built between 1866 and 1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier, it has been the official home of the prime minister of Canada since 1951. It is one of two official residences made available to the prime minister, the Harrington Lake estate in nearby Gatineau Park being the other.
Rideau Hall is the official residence of the governor general of Canada, the representative of the monarch of Canada. Located in Ottawa, the capital of the country on a 36-hectare (88-acre) estate at 1 Sussex Drive. The main building consisting of approximately 175 rooms across 9,500 square metres (102,000 sq ft), and 27 outbuildings around the grounds. Rideau Hall's site lies just outside the centre of Ottawa. It is one of two official vice-regal residences maintained by the federal Crown, the other being the Citadelle of Quebec.
7 Rideau Gate is the Canadian government's official state guest house for very important dignitaries, such as visiting heads of government or other high-level officials. The house is located in Ottawa, Ontario, near other official residences such as Rideau Hall and 24 Sussex Drive.
Sandy Hill is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, located just east of downtown. The neighbourhood is bordered on the west by the Rideau Canal, and on the east by the Rideau River. To the north it stretches to Rideau Street and the Byward Market area while to the south it is bordered by the Queensway highway and Nicholas Street. The area is named for its hilliness, caused by the river, and its sandy soil, which makes it difficult to erect large buildings. It is home to a number of embassies, residences and parks. Le Cordon Bleu operates its Canadian school there, at the opposite end of Sandy Hill from the University of Ottawa.
Rideau Street is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier district. Rideau Street is home to the Château Laurier, the CF Rideau Centre and the Government Conference Centre. Along with Wellington Street and Sussex Drive it was among the first streets in Ottawa to be host to businesses; it was created with the founding of the early town. The Plaza Bridge by the Rideau Canal is at its westmost point and the Cummings Bridge is at its eastmost point.
Sussex Drive, also known as Ottawa Regional Road 93, is an arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. It is one of the city's main ceremonial and institutional routes. Travelling roughly parallel to the Ottawa River, Sussex Drive begins as a continuation of Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway at Rideau Gate, at the entrance to Rideau Hall. It travels south to Rideau Street, with the portion south of St. Patrick Street forming the northbound half of a one-way pair with Mackenzie Avenue. Both Mackenzie Avenue and Sussex Drive connect with Colonel By Drive at their southern end, which continues south alongside the Rideau Canal.
New Edinburgh is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located to the northeast of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Beechwood Avenue, and on the east by Springfield Road and the former Rockcliffe Park village limits.
The Centre for Geography and Exploration, located at 50 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, is headquarters to the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) and home to Canadian Geographic magazine, as well as Can Geo Education and special project departments.
Green Island in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is an island at the junction of the Rideau River, just off Sussex Drive in Ottawa at the Rideau Falls at the confluence with the Ottawa River. It is situated near the neighbourhood of New Edinburgh.
The High Commission of South Africa in London is the diplomatic mission from South Africa to the United Kingdom. It is located at South Africa House, a building on Trafalgar Square, London. As well as containing the offices of the High Commissioner, the building also hosts the South African consulate. It has been a Grade II* listed building since 1982.
The Embassy of France in Ottawa is the diplomatic mission of France to Canada, located at 42 Sussex Drive in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa.
Lower Town (also spelled "Lowertown" is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Vanier Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to the east of downtown. It is the oldest part of the city. It is bounded by Rideau Street to the south, the Ottawa River to the west and north and the Rideau River to the east. It includes the commercial Byward Market area in the south-western part, and is predominantly residential in the north and east.
The architecture of Ottawa is most marked by the city's role as the national capital of Canada. This gives the city a number of monumental structures designed to represent the federal government and the nation. It also means that as a city dominated by government bureaucrats, much of its architecture tends to be formalistic and functional. However, the city is also marked by Romantic and Picturesque styles of architecture such as the Parliament Building's Gothic Revival architecture.
This is a timeline of the history of Ottawa.
Canada and South Africa established bilateral relations in the 1930s. Both countries are former British colonies and share similar cultures in terms of sports and language. Both countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Capital Pathway, also known informally as the Bike Path, is a 220-kilometre (140 mi) recreational pathway interlinking many parks, waterways and sites in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. Most of the pathway is paved, and allows an almost continuous route through the National Capital Region.
Rideau Cottage is a historic residential building located on the grounds of Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario. The two-level, 22-room Georgian Revival home is owned by the Canadian Crown and has traditionally been inhabited by people associated with the governor general of Canada, including the viceroy's private secretary. It has been occupied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family in lieu of 24 Sussex Drive since 2015.