 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2013) |
Marion Macpherson (May 16, 1924 – 1998) was a Canadian diplomat.
| This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2013) |
Marion Macpherson (May 16, 1924 – 1998) was a Canadian diplomat.
 |
MacPherson was the first child of Penelope (Annie) Adams and John MacPherson and grew up in Moosomin, Saskatchewan. Her father was a second-generation Scottish Canadian whose parents left their home in the Outer Hebrides (South Uist, Northern Isles) to settle in the Moosomin area of south east Saskatchewan. Her mother was from the same Hebridean region but had attended the University of Glasgow, from which she received a Master of Arts degree in the early 20th century before continuing on to a teaching career. Marion had two younger siblings: Joanne MacPherson of Regina and CWE MacPherson, the Managing and Associate Editor of the Ottawa Citizen.
| |
After studies at the University of Saskatchewan (B.A.) and the University of Toronto (M.A.), Macpherson joined the Department of External Affairs of the Government of Canada. Initially, she worked in Washington, D.C., Ottawa and New York City before accepting a post as Third Secretary to the Canadian Permanent Mission to the United Nations from 1963–1968, High Commissioner to Sri Lanka from 1973 to 1976, Ambassador to Denmark from 1979 to 1983, Deputy Commandant of the National Defense College from 1983 to 1985, and High Commissioner to Zambia from 1985 to 1987. Macpherson retired in Ottawa, where she died in 1998. She was only the third woman in Canada to hold the post of Ambassador (High Commissioner) at the time of her appointment as High Commissioner to Sri Lanka in 1973, and the first to do so as a career diplomat. She was among the first women to take the examination for the Canadian foreign service, in the mid- to late- 1940s, and the first woman to pass and gain entrance to External Affairs on the basis of merit. She was a lifelong learner who continued to study piano and Spanish into her 60s. Of all the countries she lived in or visited, Spain remained one of her fondest; she once said that the greatest moment in her professional life was the day democracy was re-established in Spain.
Blanche Margaret Meagher, was a Canadian diplomat who became the nation's first-ever appointed female ambassador. She served as Canadian Ambassador to Israel from 1958 to 1961, Austria from 1962 to 1966, and Sweden from 1969 to 1973. She was also High Commissioner to Cyprus, Uganda and Kenya, and chaired the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors from 1964 to 1965.
Léonard Hilarion Joseph Legault, was a Canadian diplomat.
Naela Chohan is a Pakistani artist and diplomat. As a seasoned and veteran diplomat, ambassador Chohan has assumed a leadership position in eight different Pakistani diplomatic missions on five different continents. Naela Chohan is a hyperpolyglot with demonstrable fluency in seven Indo-European languages including Persian, French, and Spanish.
Bernadine Rose Senanayake, JP, UM, better known as Rosy Senanayake, is a Sri Lankan politician, beauty pageant titleholder and activist currently serving as Presidential Advisor on Local Government affairs. She was the Mayor of Colombo from 2018 to 2023, and former Prime Minister's Spokesperson and the Deputy Head of the Prime Minister's Office for Ranil Wickramasinghe. She has been an activist on several issues and an active figure in the opposition gaining much limelight.
Ruth Archibald is a Canadian diplomat and former political organizer. She is the current Canadian high commissioner in Bridgetown with responsibility for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
Deshamanya Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy due to his role in formation of the country's diplomatic service and has served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Canada; Ambassador to France, Cuba and Secretary General of the Non Aligned Movement.
The Sri Lanka Overseas Service (SLOS) which is most commonly referred to as the Sri Lanka Foreign Service is the foreign service of Sri Lanka. It is the body of career diplomats of Sri Lanka. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also the head of the foreign service.
Nirupama Menon Rao is a retired civil servant of 1973 batch Indian Foreign Service cadre who served as India's Foreign Secretary from 2009 to 2011, as well as being India's Ambassador to the United States, China and Sri Lanka during her career.
Irangani Manel Abeysekera is a Sri Lankan diplomat. Having served as Sri Lankan Ambassador in Germany and Thailand, she is known as Sri Lanka's first woman career diplomat.
Pamela Ann McDougall was a Canadian diplomat.
Frances Elizabeth Willis was an American diplomat who served as the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, Norway and Sri Lanka. She was the third woman to enter the U.S. Foreign Service in 1927 and the first woman to make a career of it.
Eric Walsh serves as the High Commissioner for Canada in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He has held the post since November 22, 2022. Previously he served as the Ambassador of Canada to South Korea between February 2015 and September 2018. He was born in London, Ontario and grew up in Toronto.
Aruni Yasodha Wijewardane is a Sri Lankan diplomat and the current Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka. Previously she served in several senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, as well as overseas. From 2005 to 2008 she served as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Austria and Permanent Representative to the International Organisations in Vienna. In addition to her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she also served as an international civil servant, as Director of the Secretariat of the Policy Making Organs of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 2013 to 2020.
Deborah Chatsis was the Ambassador of Canada to Vietnam, Director of South Asia Relations, Global Affairs Canada, Ambassador of Canada to Guatemala and High Commissioner to Belize.
Tonia Louise Shand was an Australian diplomat and public servant, who served as Australia's first woman High Commissioner to Sri Lanka from 1988 to 1991.
Loranee Senaratne was a Sri Lankan diplomat. She was the first woman appointed to head a Sri Lankan diplomatic mission.
Arthur Basnayake was a Sri Lankan diplomat. He was the Ceylon's High Commissioner to India, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Myanmar and Japan.
Robyn Mudie is an Australian diplomat who most recently served as the Ambassador to Vietnam from 2019 to 2022, and was the High Commissioner to Sri Lanka from 2012 until 2016 with non-resident accreditation to the Maldives.
Saroja Sirisena is a Sri Lankan diplomat. She serves as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, which she was appointed to in 2020. She has previously held diplomatic positions at the United Nations, as well as in Austria and India.
Munroe, D & J. On the Job. Canadian Women of Achievement by Occupation or Avocation. Politicians and Public Servants. Famous Canadian Women Accessed July 28, 2009
 | This United Nations–related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |