John Alan Beesley (1927–2009) was a Canadian diplomat and civil servant.

Early life

Beesley was born in

Smithers Smithers is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Middle English term "smyther", referring to a metalsmith, and is thus related to the common occupational surname Smith. The name Smither is related. People *Alan Smithers (born 1938), ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, on August 17, 1927. He was one of five children of Jack and Margaret Beesley. He had two brothers, Dr. Bernard Beesley and Flight Officer Terry Beesley (who died on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

). He had two sisters, Noreen Burvill and Elizabeth Beesley. He spent his early years in Williams Lake, Penticton and Kamloops. He graduated from Kamloops High School in 1945. He attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(UBC), graduating with a bachelor of arts and law degree in 1950. While attending UBC he was a founding member of the Jokers Club. He also became a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

fraternity. After graduating Beesley practised law at Crease and Company in Victoria, BC, for six years, prior to joining the federal

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1956.

Diplomatic career

Beesley began work with the Department of External Affairs in 1956. His early postings included Israel in 1958 and the Canadian permanent mission to the United Nations Geneva, from 1964 to 1967. He was assistant under-secretary and legal adviser to External Affairs from 1972 to 1973 and the Canadian delegate to the legal committee of the Stockholm Environmental Conference in 1972. Beesley received his first ambassadorial appointment in 1973. He was made ambassador to Austria, the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

and

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

from 1973 to 1976. He served as High Commissioner to Australia from 1977 to 1980. From 1980 to 1982 he was Canada's first ambassador for disarmament in New York. From 1983 to 1987 he was ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and

GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its pre ...

. Beesley was a member of the

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

from 1986 to 1991. From 1967 to 1983 Beesley was instrumental in shaping the law of the sea as Canada's ambassador to the Law of the Sea Conference, Canadian head of delegation and chair of the conference drafting committee. In 1987 to 1988 he took a years sabbatical as a visiting professor at the UBC faculty of law. He ended his diplomatic career as ambassador for marine conservation and special environmental adviser to Canada's Foreign Minister from 1989 to 1991. Throughout his career Beesley was involved in protecting the environment and promoting peace. He was involved in major bilateral and multinational treaty negotiations in many subjects, including: outer space; the law of the atmosphere; aerial hijacking; international trade; the International Atomic Energy Agency peaceful nuclear regime; environmental law; human rights law; the law of the arctic; humanitarian law; laws of war; climate change; aboriginal law; refugee law; and international crimes. Beesley was also an active human rights advocate in the World Health Organization (on apartheid) and led the delegation that negotiated the anti-hijacking agreement with Cuba.

Other

Beesley was on the board of directors of the

Sierra Legal Defence Fund Ecojustice Canada (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund prior to September 2007), is a Canadian non-profit environmental law organization that provides funding to lawyers to use litigation to defend and protect the environment. Ecojustice is Canad ...

Awards and recognition

Beesley was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1974. In about 1978 he was recognized as a Significant Sig by the

fraternity. Beesley was awarded the Prime Minister's Outstanding Public Service Award in 1983. In 1983 he was made an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

for his work on the law of the sea and the environment. In 1993 Beesley was awarded the Admiral's Medal for contributions to Canadian maritime affairs. In 1995 he received the

United Nations Association in Canada The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) is an historic, national charitable organization providing the leading policy voice on multilateralism in Canada. Established in 1946, UNA-Canada was a founding member of the World Federation of ...

medal of honour. In 1998 he was awarded the Red Cross's Human Rights Medal of Honour, the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg Medal, and the Human Rights Medal of Honour from the Vancouver Island Human Rights Coalition. Beesley received an honorary doctor of environmental studies from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

in 1984 and an honorary doctor of laws from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

in 1994/

Personal life

In 1954 Beesley married Margaret Ruth Stevens. They had two children, a daughter, Terry Beesley Phipps, and a son, S. Alan Beesley. His first wife died in 1991. He remarried in 2002 to Ruth Lechner. He died in Victoria, B.C., on January 22, 2009.Former Diplomat, Father of Developer Passes Away
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References

External links

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Complete List of Posts
* In Memoriam: J. Alan Beesley, Canadian diplomat and UBC Law alumnus

* Globe and Mail, Jan. 24, 2009

* UBC Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beesley, John Alan 1927 births 2009 deaths Officers of the Order of Canada University of British Columbia alumni International Law Commission officials Ambassadors of Canada to Austria High Commissioners of Canada to Papua New Guinea High Commissioners of Canada to Australia High Commissioners of Canada to the Solomon Islands High Commissioners of Canada to Vanuatu Permanent Representatives of Canada to the United Nations People from Smithers, British Columbia Canadian King's Counsel Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni Canadian officials of the United Nations Members of the International Law Commission