Foss Shanahan (10 June 1910 – 13 September 1964) was a New Zealand diplomat and public servant.

Biography

Shanahan was born on 10 June 1910 at

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

. He was educated at the Christian Brothers' Boys' School in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

and Waitaki Boys' High School, passing the public service entrance examination in 1926. He joined the public service in 1928 and studied part-time at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

and

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, graduating from Victoria with a Master of Laws (LLM) in 1936. He started in the Customs Department, then in 1939 joined the Prime Minister’s Department, in the section that became the

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT; ) is the executive department of the Government of New Zealand charged with conducting the nation’s external relations, trade negotiations and international development programme. From its hea ...

. He was Assistant Secretary of the War Cabinet 1940-45, Deputy Secretary of the External Affairs Department 1943-55, Secretary of Cabinet 1946-55, and Head of Defence Secretariat 1949-55. He set up the Cabinet Secretariat, and was known as "Foss the Boss." He served as Commissioner then High Commissioner to Singapore (also to Malaya and Ambassador to Thailand) 1955-58, then as High Commissioner to Canada 1958-61 and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York 1958-62. In the 1962 Queen's Birthday Honours, Shanahan was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

. He died (of a brain tumour) on 13 September 1964 in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Personal life

He married Joan Katherine McCormick (or Joan Mason) on 18 April 1938; they had four sons and one daughter.

External links

1961 letter to ''Salient'' "The Challenge of Change" by Foss Shanahan

References

*''Unofficial Channels: Letters between Alister McIntosh and Foss Shanahan, George Laking and Frank Corner 1946-1966'' edited by Ian McGibbon (1999, Victoria University Press, Wellington NZ) *''Undiplomatic Dialogue: Letters between Carl Berendsen and Alister McIntosh 1943-1952'' edited by Ian McGibbon (1993, Auckland University Press, Auckland NZ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shanahan, Foss 1910 births 1964 deaths High commissioners of New Zealand to Canada Deaths from brain cancer in New Zealand People educated at Trinity Catholic College, Dunedin People educated at Waitaki Boys' High School New Zealand public servants People from Alexandra, New Zealand Permanent representatives of New Zealand to the United Nations Victoria University of Wellington alumni High commissioners of New Zealand to Singapore Ambassadors of New Zealand to Thailand High commissioners of New Zealand to Malaysia New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George