Edmonde Dever (1921 - 2010) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

diplomat who became Belgium's permanent representative at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in 1981, having previously deputised in the role. Dever was born in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and studied at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

and the

Free University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions * Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970 *Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...

. After graduating with a BA in history, she obtained a doctorate in Law, and entered Belgium's diplomatic service in 1946, initially serving in colonial administration. She was posted to Belgium's embassy in the UK in 1949, in 1959 to Johannesburg, South Africa, and shortly afterwards to Luanda, Angola. Dever served as Belgium's ambassador to Sweden from 1973 to 1978 and to Austria from 1978 to 1981. Her appointment as UN representative lasted from 1981 to 1988. Honours accorded to Dever include Belgium's Order of Leopold and Order of the Crown, Luxembourg's Order of the Oak, Sweden's

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

and Austria's

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

Personal life

Dever never married. An opera enthusiast who enjoyed sport and took up skiing during her time in the United States, she later began to suffer from a muscular degenerative condition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dever, Edmonde 1921 births Permanent Representatives of Belgium to the United Nations 2010 deaths Diplomats from Brussels Belgian women diplomats University of Liège alumni Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Belgian women ambassadors Belgian expatriates in the United Kingdom Belgian expatriates in South Africa Belgian expatriates in Angola