Jean Chapdelaine

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]

• Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur^[14]
• Officer of the Order of La Pléiade
• Officer of the National Order of Quebec

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 from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
3. Steinberg, S. H., ed. (1964). The Statesman's Year-Book 1964-1965. Macmillan Publishers. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-230-27093-0. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
4. Pierre Gingras (2 February 2010). "Chronique Willie, Phil, Sam ou Fred?". Le Journal de Québec (in French). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
5. "Jean Chapdelaine (1914-2005) - Le père de la diplomatie québécoise s'éteint". Le Devoir (in French). 5 February 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
6. "College Notes" (PDF). Hertford College Magazine. 48: 1–2. May 1961. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
7. "Jean Chapdelaine (1914 – 2005)". Ordre National Du Québec (in French). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
8. Lawson, L. J., ed. (1941). Official Congressional Directory for the 1st Session of the 77th Congress (2nd ed.). United States Government Publishing Office. 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). United States Public Health Service: 241. 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". Le Devoir (in French). 2 August 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
15. "BOURSE RITA-ET-JEAN-CHAPDELAINE" (PDF). Université Laval (in French). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
16. "Création du Fonds de bourses Rita et Jean Chapdelaine". Université Laval (in French). 16 February 2006. Retrieved 22 March 2022.