Arthur Edward Blanchette (March 23, 1921 - August 30, 2003) 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 ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he graduated from the University of Montreal in 1940 and took his PhD in 1945 in Ottawa where he entered in the Latin-American section of the Wartime information board. In 1969 he was at the Direction between francophone countries. He was Chargé d'Affaires to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

then Acting High Commissioner to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

followed by Acting Commissioner at the ICSC for Cambodia, then Chargé d'Affaires a.i. to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

before returning home to a post in the department of francophone countries at External Affairs in Ottawa. Then Ambassador and Permanent Observer to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

then to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, and, after an extended impasse, non-resident ambassador to

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. After retiring from foreign service, Blanchette became director of the historical division of the Department of External Affairs. He caused some controversy in 1983 due to a book he was preparing on the department's history. Some figures who appeared in the proposed book, including former External Affairs minister and future Prime Minister,

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

, objected to its content. Blanchette was the editor of two volumes of speeches and papers entitled ''Canadian Foreign Policy''. He was the father of Alix Cléo Roubaud.

References

External links

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Complete List of Posts
Permanent representatives of Canada to the Organization of American States 1921 births 2003 deaths Ambassadors of Canada to Egypt Ambassadors of Canada to Cambodia Ambassadors of Canada to Greece High commissioners of Canada to South Africa Ambassadors of Canada to Tunisia Ambassadors of Canada to Libya Canadian book editors American emigrants to Canada {{Canada-diplomat-stub