Théodore Jean "Ted" Arcand (25 June 1934 –16 April 2005) was a Canadian diplomat. He was Canada's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Lebanon,Syria,Jordan,Hungary,and the Holy See. [1]
Théodore Jean Arcand was born on 25 June 1934 in the town of Bonnyville,Alberta,Canada. [2] He attended UniversitéLaval in Quebec City from 1955 to 1956,then McMaster University in Hamilton,Ontario,in 1957. [2] From 1957 to 1958,he worked in the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. [2]
His foreign policy career began in 1958 in the Department of External Affairs,now Global Affairs Canada. [2] Over the course of the following two decades,he assumed various roles in several Canadian embassies in Africa and Europe. [2]
In 1979,he was appointed as the Canadian ambassador to Lebanon,Syria and Jordan. [2] In the 1982 Lebanon War,during the Israeli siege of Beirut,the Canadian embassy headed by Arcand became the only Western embassy still operating in west Beirut. [3] For this reason,the embassy played an important role in receiving information from the Palestine Liberation Organization and sharing it with other Western nations,such as the United States,the United Kingdom,France and West Germany. [3] On 28 July,a unanimous resolution at the House of Commons of Canada commended Arcand and his staff for their commitment. [3] After Arcand's apartment was bombed by Israeli jets,the embassy was finally evacuated on 2 August. [4]
In 1982 and 1983,Arcand was Canadian ambassador to Hungary. [2] From 1989 to 1993,he was the ambassador to the Holy See. [2] He received the Order of Knight Commander of St. Gregory The Great from Pope John Paul II. [5] Arcand died on 16 April 2005 in Montreal,Quebec,Canada,at the age of 70. [6]
Arcand was married to Jennifer Marjorie Garner-Ashmore. [6] They had a son,Jean-Louis. [6]
A polyglot,Arcand had studied Czech,Danish,Swahili,Italian,Arabic,and Hungarian. [5]
The foreign relations of Jordan have been consistently a pro-Western foreign policy.
The foreign policy of Lebanon reflects its geographic location,the composition of its population,and its reliance on commerce and trade. Until 2005,Lebanon's foreign policy had been heavily influenced by Syria,however beginning with the formation of Hezbollah in 1982,Iran had gradually grown to heavily influence Lebanon.
Ensuring national security,increasing influence among its Arab neighbours and securing the return of the Golan Heights,have been the primary goals of the Syrian Arab Republic's foreign policy. At many points in its history,Syria has seen tension with its neighbours,such as Turkey,Israel,Jordan,Iraq,and Lebanon. Syria enjoyed an improvement in relations with several of the states in its region in the 21st century,prior to the Arab Spring and the Syrian civil war. Until 2018,due to the Syrian civil war,the Syrian Arab Republic's government was partially isolated from the countries in the region and the wider international community. Diplomatic relations are severed with several countries,including Turkey,Canada,France,Italy,Australia,New Zealand,Sweden,Denmark,the Netherlands,Germany,the United States,the UK,Belgium,Spain,Mexico,Qatar,Georgia,and Ukraine. In 2011 and 2012,Syria was suspended from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and Union for the Mediterranean. Syria is also a full member of the Arab League. Syria is a candidate state of the new Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
The Islamic Jihad Organization was a Lebanese Shia militia known for its activities in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War.
On October 23,1983,two truck bombs were detonated at buildings in Beirut,Lebanon,housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF),a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War. The attack killed 307 people:241 U.S. and 58 French military personnel,six civilians,and two attackers.
The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to end their involvement in the conflict between Lebanon's pro-government and pro-Syrian factions. The ceasefire held until June 3,1982,when the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov,Israel's ambassador to London. Israel blamed the PLO and three days later invaded Lebanon. West Beirut was besieged for seven weeks before the PLO acceded to a new agreement for their withdrawal. The agreement provided for the deployment of a Multinational Force to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces in evacuating the PLO,Syrian forces and other foreign combatants involved in Lebanon's civil war.
The Syrian occupation of Lebanon lasted from 1976,beginning with the Syrian intervention in the Lebanese Civil War,until April 30,2005. This period saw significant Syrian military and political influence over Lebanon,impacting its governance,economy,and society. The occupation ended following intense international pressure and the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. The legacy of the occupation continues to influence Lebanese-Syrian relations and Lebanon's internal political dynamics.
The Lebanon hostage crisis was the kidnapping in Lebanon of 104 foreign hostages between 1982 and 1992,when the Lebanese Civil War was at its height. The hostages were mostly Americans and Western Europeans,but 21 national origins were represented. At least eight hostages died in captivity;some were murdered,while others died from lack of medical attention. During the fifteen years of the Lebanese civil war an estimated 17,000 people disappeared after being abducted.
Ties between Canada and Lebanon date back to the Ottoman Empire;however,formal bilateral relations were first established in 1954. Canada is home to one of the largest Lebanese diaspora communities. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the United Nations.
The French Embassy,Beirut is the chief diplomatic mission of France in Lebanon. Its ambassador has been Bruno Foucher since 2017.
The 2013 Iranian embassy bombing in Beirut was a double suicide bombing in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut,Lebanon on 19 November 2013. The two bombings resulted in 23 deaths and injured at least 160 others.
On 22 April 1982,a powerful car bomb detonated on Rue Marbeuf in the 8th arrondissement of Paris in France during the morning rush hour. It killed a young woman and injured 60 other people. The offices of the Lebanese newspaper Al-Watan al-Arabi appeared to be the target.
The Embassy of Sweden in Beirut is Sweden's diplomatic mission in Lebanon. The Embassy of Sweden in Beirut has a complex history,reflecting the turbulent political landscape of Lebanon. Sweden recognized Lebanon as an independent state in 1945 and established diplomatic relations in 1947. The Swedish legation in Beirut was established in 1957 and was elevated to an embassy in 1960. The embassy faced multiple closures due to the Lebanese Civil War,particularly during intense conflicts like the Battle of the Hotels in 1975 and the 1982 Lebanon War. Despite temporary closures,the embassy resumed operations intermittently. It was permanently reopened in 2016,focusing on political reporting and aid,particularly in response to the Syrian civil war and its spillover in Lebanon.