Mary McGeachy explained

Mary McGeachy Schuller (7 November 1901 – 2 November 1991) was of Canadian nationality, a British diplomat and international civil servant.

Biography

Mary McGeachy was born as Mary Craig McGeachy on 7 November 1901 in Sarnia, Ontario to Scottish-Canadian parents.^[1] Her father was a gospel hall preacher.^{[2] [3]}

She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1924. She completed her studies in law and history with distinction. She briefly taught in a high school at Hamilton, Ontario.^[2] Her work experiences at International Student Service in the University of Toronto helped her to get a job as a senior assistant at Information Section of the League of Nations Secretariat in Geneva in 1928.^{[4] [1] [5]} During her service of more than a decade with the League of Nations, she worked as a liaison officer for the British Dominions. After the dissolution of the League of Nations in 1940, she joined, a temporary diplomatic post,^[6] the public relations department of the British Ministry of Economic Warfare.^{[7] [8]}

In 1942, following her appointment as the first secretary of the British embassy in Washington, she became “the first woman to be given British diplomatic rank.” ^[1] She was appointed as a Director to lead the newly created Welfare Division of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration(UNRRA) in 1944.^[9] Since 1946, she was actively engaged in promoting women's welfare and rights. She was associated with International Council of Women (ICW), and served its president from 1963 to 1973.^[2]

She married Viennese-born banker Erwin Schuller.^[10]

She died in New York City on 2 November 1991.

Further reading

• News: Britain's First Woman Diplomat. Valentine. Elizabeth R.. The New York Times. 11 April 1943.

Notes and References

1. Book: Macfadyen, David . 6 February 2019. Eric Drummond and his Legacies: The League of Nations and the Beginnings of Global Governance . 9 May 2022. New York City. Springer . 173. 978-3-030-04732-0.
2. Book: Forestell, Nancy . 31 December 2013. Documenting First Wave Feminisms: Volume II Canada - National and Transnational Contexts. 9 May 2022. Toronto. University of Toronto Press . 102. 978-1-442-66661-0.
3. Book: Mandler, Peter . 7 May 2013. Return from the Natives: How Margaret Mead Won the Second World War and Lost the Cold War. 9 May 2022. New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University Press. 102. 978-0-300-18785-4.
4. Book: Gorman, Daniel . 20 August 2012. The Emergence of International Society in the 1920s. 9 May 2022. Cambridge . Cambridge University Press . 52. 978-1-139-53668-4.
5. Book: Horlick, Louis . 2007. J. Wendell Macleod: Saskatchewan's Red Dean. 9 May 2022. Montreal. McGill-Queen's Press . 29. 978-0-773-56032-1.
6. Book: Cassidy, Jennifer A. . 6 July 2017. Gender and Diplomacy. 9 May 2022. Oxfordshire. Taylor & Francis. 25. 978-1-351-98299-3.
7. Book: Brookfield, Tarah. 1 May 2012. Cold War Comforts: Canadian women, Child Safety, and Global Insecurity. 9 May 2022. Waterloo, Ontario . Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 107. 978-1-554-58635-6.
8. Book: Owens, Patricia . 7 January 2021. Women's International Thought: A New History. 9 May 2022. Cambridge . Cambridge University Press. 141. 978-1-108-49469-4.
9. Book: Armstrong-Reid, Susan E. . 30 June 2008. Armies of Peace: Canada and the UNRRA Years . 9 May 2022. Toronto. University of Toronto Press . NA. 978-1-442-69191-9.
10. Book: McCarthy, Helen . 22 May 2014. Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat. 9 May 2022. London . A&C Black. NA. 978-1-408-84004-7.