John Wendell Holmes (18 June 1910 – 13 August 1988) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

diplomat and academic. Born in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, Holmes attended the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

and received a Master of Arts degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. From 1933 to 1938, he was a master of English at

Pickering College Pickering College is an independent, co-educational school for children in grades from Junior Kindergarten through grade 12. It is located in Newmarket, Ontario, Newmarket, Ontario in Canada on a 17-hectare (42 acre) property on Bayview Avenue. The ...

. From 1938 to 1940, he attended the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He joined the

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 1943 as a temporary wartime assistant. From 1947 to 1948, he was the Canadian Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. In 1950, he was appointed Acting Permanent Delegate to 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 ...

. He became Assistant Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs in 1953 where he remained until his retirement in 1960. From 1960 to 1973, Holmes was president (later called director-general) of the

Canadian Institute of International Affairs The Canadian International Council (CIC; french: Conseil international du Canada, link=no) is a Canadian think tank on foreign relations. It is an independent, member-based council established to strengthen Canada's role in international affairs. ...

, a non-partisan, non-profit, and non-governmental organization for the discussion and analysis of international affairs. Holmes was among hundreds of federal civil servants who were targeted in an RCMP homosexual witch hunt that intensified in 1959 and continued through the 1960s, destroying lives, careers and families. From 1971 to 1981, he was a professor of international relations at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Glendon College Glendon College is a public liberal arts college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formally the federated bilingual campus of York University, it is one of the school's nine colleges and 11 faculties with 100 full-time faculty members and a student po ...

. From 1967 until his death, he was a visiting professor of international relations at the University of Toronto. He was also a visiting professor of history at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 1979 and 1985. He was the author of ''Life with Uncle: the Canadian-American Relationship'' (1981) and ''The Shaping of Peace: Canada and the Search for World Order 1943-1957'' (2 volumes, 1979 and 1982). In 1986, he was awarded the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

J. B. Tyrrell Historical Medal The J. B. Tyrrell Historical Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada "for outstanding work in the history of Canada." It was established in 1927, endowed by the Canadian geologist and amateur historian Joseph Burr Tyrrell. The medal is ...

in recognition of these volumes. In 1969, 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 ...

. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the recipient of 10 honorary doctorates.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, John Wendell 1910 births 1988 deaths Permanent Representatives of Canada to the United Nations Ambassadors of Canada to the Soviet Union Canadian male non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada LGBT diplomats Canadian LGBT writers Officers of the Order of Canada Writers from London, Ontario University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto University of Western Ontario alumni Academic staff of York University Alumni of the University of London 20th-century Canadian historians 20th-century Canadian LGBT people Academic staff of Glendon College Academics of the University of Leeds