Joseph Marc Antoine Jean Chapdelaine (1914 – February 1, 2005),[1][2] more commonly known as Jean Chapdelaine or J. A. Chapdelaine,[3] was a Canadian diplomat who was ambassador to Sweden, Finland, Brazil, Sudan and Egypt in the 1950s and 1960s.[4] He was also an important figure in the development of Quebec Government Offices and has been called the 'Father of Quebec diplomacy'.[5]

Biography

Chapdelaine attended Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1934, studying PPE at Hertford College, Oxford.[1][6][7]

Chapdelaine joined the Department for External Affairs in 1937.[7] In 1941, he was third secretary at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., working for Ambassador Leighton McCarthy.[8] Chapdelaine attended the third session of the Food and Agriculture Organization conference in 1947,[9] and the second session of the interim commission of the World Health Organization in 1948.[10]

From January to July 1950, Chapdelaine was the chargé d'affaires to Ireland.[2] From 1955 to 1959 he was the Canadian ambassador to Finland and Sweden, from 1959 to 1963 he was the ambassador to Brazil,[11] and from 1963 to 1964 he was ambassador to Sudan and Egypt (then still called the United Arab Republic).[3][2] From 1965, Chapdelaine became Quebec's delegate-general in Paris as part of one of the province's Government Offices, although he had hoped he would be nominated as ambassador to France.[12][13] He held the post until 1976 when he returned to Canada to work as an adviser in the office of Premier René Lévesque. He later became Quebec's delegate-general in Brussels before retiring as a diplomat in the 1980s.[5]

Honours

Chapdelaine received several medals and honours:[7]

Chapdelaine was also given an honorary doctorate in social sciences from the Université Laval in 1975.[7] Since 2006, the university has awarded the Rita and Jean Chapdelaine Scholarship in remembrance of him and his wife.[15][16]

References

  1. ^ "Jean CHAPDELAINE". Legacy.com. The Globe and Mail. 5 February 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Chapdelaine, Joseph Marc Antoine Jean (Career)". Government of Canada. 5 June 2014. Archived 28 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. ^ The Statesman's Year-Book 1964-1965. Macmillan Publishers. 1964. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-230-27093-0. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  4. ^ Pierre Gingras (2 February 2010). "Chronique Willie, Phil, Sam ou Fred?" (in French). Le Journal de Québec. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Jean Chapdelaine (1914-2005) - Le père de la diplomatie québécoise s'éteint" (in French). Le Devoir. 5 February 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. ^ "College Notes". Hertford College Magazine. 48: 1–2. May 1961. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Jean Chapdelaine (1914 – 2005)" (in French). Ordre National Du Québec. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  8. ^ Official Congressional Directory for the 1st Session of the 77th Congress. 2nd ed. United States Government Publishing Office. 1941. p. 440. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  9. ^ "A. Delegates and observers attending the third session of the conference". Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Second Session of Interim Commission, Geneva, November, 4-13, 1946 - Appendix A". Public Health Reports. 62 (7): 241. United States Public Health Service. 14 February 1947. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  11. ^ Asa McKercher (March 2012). "Southern Exposure: Diefenbaker, Latin America, and the Organization of American States". Canadian Historical Review. 93 (1): 64. doi:10.3138/chr.93.1.57. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  12. ^ David Meren (October 2007). Strange Allies: Canada-Quebec-France Triangular Relations, 1944-1970. McGill University. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  13. ^ Eldon Black (1996). Direct Intervention: Canada-France Relations, 1967-1974. McGill–Queen's University Press. p. 23. ISBN 9780773580923. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Louise Beaudoin deviendra commandeur de la Légion d'honneur" (in French). Le Devoir. 2 August 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. ^ "BOURSE RITA-ET-JEAN-CHAPDELAINE" (in French). Université Laval. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  16. ^ "Création du Fonds de bourses Rita et Jean Chapdelaine" (in French). Université Laval. 16 February 2006. Retrieved 22 March 2022.