Mary Craig McGeachy, First Secretary, British Embassy, Washington Maclean's

Mary McGeachy Schuller (7 November 1901 – 2 November 1991) was of Canadian nationality, a British diplomat and international civil servant.

Biography

Mary McGeachy was born as Mary Craig McGeachy on 7 November 1901 in

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

to Scottish-Canadian parents. Her father was a gospel hall preacher. She graduated 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 ...

in 1924. She completed her studies in law and history with distinction. She briefly taught in a high school at

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. Her work experiences at International Student Service in the University of Toronto helped her to get a job as a senior assistant at Information Section of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

Secretariat in Geneva in 1928. During her service of more than a decade with the League of Nations, she worked as a liaison officer for the British Dominions. After the dissolution of the League of Nations in 1940, she joined, a temporary diplomatic post, the public relations department of the British Ministry of Economic Warfare. In 1942 following her appointment as the first secretary of the British embassy in Washington, she became “the first woman to be given British diplomatic rank.” She was appointed as a Director to lead the newly created Welfare Division of the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

(UNRRA) in 1944. Since 1946, she was actively engaged in promoting women's welfare and rights. She was associated with

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., with ...

(ICW), and served its president from 1963 to 1973. She married Viennese-born banker Erwin Schuller. She died in New York City on 2 November 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGeachy, Mary 1901 births 1991 deaths Canadian women diplomats Canadian people of Scottish descent University of Toronto alumni Canadian expatriates in the United States