"Special Trust and Confidence": Envoy Essays in Canadian Diplomacy

D.M.L. Farr is professor emeritus of history at Carleton University and
the editor of Life and Letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

In this collection of essays, 17 former Canadian ambassadors and high
commissioners describe their experiences at foreign postings they have
held. The field is an extensive one, ranging from countries in Europe,
the Middle East, South Asia, China, and Japan to international
organizations such as the United Nations and NATO. The collection has
been brought together by ex-diplomat David Reece, who wrote his own
lively memoir of the life of a well-traveled officer in the Canadian
foreign service (A Rich Broth, 1993).

Most of the contributors joined the Department of External Affairs, as
it was then called, after serving in the Second World War. The solitary
female representative in the group, Dorothy Armstrong, did not join
External Affairs until 1957. All the contributors are retired, allowing
them to report freely on their objectives and frustrations. Three of the
essays are in French.

Among 17 essays, there is bound to be unevenness. Some contributors are
more personal than others in describing day-to-day life at the embassy.
Arthur Blanchette gives a vivid portrait of events on the International
Control Commission in steamy and spartan Cambodia during the Vietnam
conflict. Dorothy Armstrong has an interesting account of the trials of
the first woman ambassador to serve in Budapest at a time when the
Hungarian Interior Ministry controlled the lives of foreign diplomats.
Other essays deal primarily with large events, saying little about the
personal circumstances of the author. John Halstead, at NATO
headquarters in Brussels, coolly analyzes the organization’s response
to the Polish crisis of 1980–81, while John Stiles, in a faraway
Guyana 10 years before, attempts to head off the ill-conceived
nationalization of Alcan’s bauxite producer, Demba. Perhaps the essay
that throws most light on international statecraft is William Barton’s
account of how a representative at the UN builds coalitions for the
achievement of goals. Barton was a master at this demanding task, and he
describes his methods cogently.

Two final comments. First, although Canada’s Department of Foreign
Affairs has a new name stressing trade promotion, there is little in
these essays on how the authors undertook their trade responsibilities.
The reader comes away with the impression that most of the contributors
were more comfortable in dealing with the traditional political
interests of the department. Second,

the material presented in the book amply supports editor Reece’s
opening point that “an

envoy is not a dog on a chain.” Representatives abroad often had to
take their own initiative

when directions from home were inappropriate or lacking. In describing
such occasions, “Special Trust and Confidence” offers many valuable
examples for the student of diplomatic practice.