Pamela Ann McDougall
Pamela Ann McDougall (born 9 May 1925) is a Canadian former diplomat.[1]
McDougall attended Glebe Collegiate in Ottawa and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Mount Allison University and a graduate degree from the University of Toronto.[2] McDougall elected not to pursue a career in chemistry, accepting, instead, a position as a grade 3 clerk in the Department of External Affairs.[2] McDougall rose through the ranks of the department, becoming a grade 1 foreign service officer in 1952.[2]
In 1958 and 1959 McDougall represented Canada on the trilateral International Control Commission for Vietnam (the other members being India and Poland).[2] Her rapport with these two countries served her well in her subsequent appointments.[3] Between 1961 and 1963 she served as first secretary and later counselor at the Canadian High Commission in India.[2] In 1968 she was appointed ambassador to Poland, becoming the second Canadian woman to serve as an ambassador.[3] Her tenure in Warsaw coincided with a number of crises in the Middle East, including the Six Day War and crises in the Eastern Block, including the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.[2]
McDougall returned to Ottawa in 1971, joining the Privy Council as an assistant secretary.[2] In 1974 she returned to External Affairs as a bureau director general.[2] In 1979 she was appointed deputy minister the Department of National Health and Welfare by Prime Minister Joe Clark.[2]
In 1980 McDougall reached the peak of her career in the civil service when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau picked her to lead the Royal Commission on Conditions of Foreign Service.[2][4] Trudeau specifically directed McDougall to consider "the aspirations of women in Canadian society".[2] In writing her report, McDougall traveled around the world and interviewed sixty percent of the Canadian foreign service and their spouses.[2]
After presenting her report in 1981 McDougall retired from public service.[2] She served for some years on the boards of Carleton University and the Royal Ottawa Hospital.[2] In 1987 she married Paul Mayer, a retired Lieutenant Colonel whom she had met in Vietnam three decades earlier.[2]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Norman Berlis |
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Poland 1968-1971 |
Succeeded by John Alexander McCordick |
References
- ↑ Holmes, John W. (2012). "Pamela Ann McDougall". Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Dominion Institute. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Weelers, Margaret K. (1995). Envoys Extraordinary. Dundum. pp. 62–72. ISBN 9781550022414.
- 1 2 "Canada names Ottawa woman new ambassador to Poland". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Canadian Press. 20 January 1968. p. 16. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- ↑ "Former female diplomat heads enquiry into the foreign service". The Leader-Post. Canadian Press. 20 October 1980. p. 43. Retrieved 7 April 2013.