Adelaide Helen Grant Sinclair, (January 16, 1900 – November 20, 1982) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

public servant. She was the second Chairman of the

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

Executive Board from 1951 to 1952, and from 1957 to 1967, she was the deputy executive director for programs of UNICEF, and one of the highest ranking women at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Overton Macdonald, she attended

Havergal College Havergal College is a private day and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitarian. The ...

and received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in economics from

University College, University of Toronto University College, popularly referred to as UC, is a constituent college of the University of Toronto located at its St. George campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was created in 1853 specifically as an institution of higher learning free ...

in 1922 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1925. She was a member of

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international Fraternities and sororities, sorority founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established ...

at the University of Toronto. She did post-graduate work at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

from 1926 to 1929 and the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

in 1929. She lectured in economics and political science at the University of Toronto. In 1930 she married Donald Black Sinclair, a Toronto lawyer, who died in 1938. The couple had no children. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she was the Director and temporary

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the

Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS or "Wrens") was an element of the Royal Canadian Navy that was active during the Second World War and post-war as part of the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve, Royal Canadian Naval Reserve until unificat ...

(WRCNS). She was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the New Year Honours 1945 for her "untiring zeal and outstanding ability, tact and judgement in organizing the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service into a most efficient and well-disciplined unit". From 1946 to 1957, she was the executive assistant to the Deputy Minister of National Health and Welfare and Canadian representative to UNICEF. From 1957 until her retirement in 1967, she was the Deputy Director of UNICEF. In 1967, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. She received an honorary degree from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1968.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Adelaide 20th-century Canadian civil servants Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Chairmen and Presidents of UNICEF University of Toronto alumni 1900 births 1982 deaths Military personnel from Toronto Canadian women civil servants Canadian female military personnel Royal Canadian Navy officers Canadian women diplomats Canadian officials of the United Nations 20th-century Canadian women civil servants