Charles Ritchie (diplomat) explained

Charles Ritchie
Office1:Canadian Ambassador to West Germany
Predecessor1:Thomas Clayton Davis
Successor1:Escott Reid
Term Start1:1954
Term End1:1958
Office2:Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations
Predecessor2:Robert Alexander MacKay
Successor2:Paul Tremblay
Term Start2:1958
Term End2:1962
Office3:Canadian Ambassador to the United States
Predecessor3:Norman Robertson
Successor3:Edgar Ritchie
Term Start3:1962
Term End3:1966
Office4:Canadian Ambassador to the North Atlantic Council
Predecessor4:George Ignatieff
Successor4:Ross Campbell
Term Start4:1966
Term End4:1967
Office5:High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom
Predecessor5:Lionel Chevrier
Successor5:Jake Warren
Term Start5:1967
Term End5:1971
Birth Date:23 September 1906
Birth Place:Halifax, Nova Scotia
Birth Name:Charles Stewart Almon Ritchie
Death Place:Ottawa, Ontario
Spouse:Sylvia Smellie
Relations:Roland Ritchie, brother

Charles Stewart Almon Ritchie, (September 23, 1906  - June 7, 1995) was a Canadian diplomat and diarist.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ritchie was educated at the University of King's College, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Pembroke College, Oxford, Harvard University, and École Libre des Sciences Politiques.[1] He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1934 eventually becoming Canada's ambassador to West Germany (1954–1958), Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1958–1962), ambassador to the United States during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson (1962–1966), ambassador to the North Atlantic Council (1966–1967) and from 1967 to 1971 was Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in London.[2]

While Ritchie's career as a diplomat marked him as an important person in the history of Canadian foreign relations, he became famous through the publication of his diaries, first The Siren Years, and then three follow-ups. The diaries document both his diplomatic career and his private life, including the beginning of his long love affair with the Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen, which began in 1941 when he was still single and she married, survived through his marriage in 1948 and long periods of separation, lasting until Bowen's death in 1973.[1]

In 1969 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada "for services in the field of diplomacy". He received honorary doctorates from Trent University (1976),[3] York University (1992)[4] and Carleton University (1992).[5]

Ritchie came from a prominent family in Nova Scotia. His brother, Roland Ritchie, continuing a family tradition in the law, was a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.[6]

Selected works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Love's Civil War: Elizabeth Bowen and Charles Ritchie. Victoria Glendinning. Victoria Glendinning. 2008. McClelland & Stewart. 978-0771035661. registration.
  2. Book: Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. University of Toronto Press. W.H. New. W.H. New. 2002. 0802007619. registration.
  3. Web site: Trent Honorary Graduates And Eminent Service Award Winners. Trent University. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120629080415/http://www.trentu.ca/convocation/honorarydegree_complete.php. 2012-06-29.
  4. Web site: Honorary Degrees Recipients. York University.
  5. Web site: Honorary Degrees Awarded Since 1954. Carleton University. 2012-04-09. 2013-11-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20131110192529/http://www1.carleton.ca/senate/honorary-degrees/honorary-degrees-awarded-since-1954/. dead.
  6. Encyclopedia: Roland A. Ritchie. https://archive.today/20120913080709/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/roland-a-ritchie. dead. September 13, 2012. The Canadian Encyclopedia.