John Alan Beesley (1927–2009) was a Canadian diplomat and civil servant.

Early life

Beesley was born in

Smithers, British Columbia Smithers is a town in northwestern British Columbia, approximately halfway between Prince George, British Columbia, Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Prince Rupert. With a population of 5,378 in 2021, Smithers provides service cove ...

, on August 17, 1927. He was one of five children of Jack and Margaret Beesley. He had two brothers, Dr. Bernard Beesley and Flight Officer Terry Beesley (who died on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

). He had two sisters, Noreen Burvill and Elizabeth Beesley. He spent his early years in Williams Lake, Penticton and Kamloops. He graduated from Kamloops High School in 1945. He attended 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 ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and Law degree in 1950. While attending UBC he was a founding member of the Jokers Club. He also became a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity. After graduating, Beesley practised law at Crease and Company in Victoria, BC, for six years, prior to joining the federal Department of External Affairs in 1956.

Diplomatic career

Beesley began work with the Department of External Affairs in 1956. His early postings included Israel in 1958 and the Canadian permanent mission to the United Nations Geneva, from 1964 to 1967. He was assistant under-secretary and legal adviser to External Affairs from 1972 to 1973 and the Canadian delegate to the legal committee of the Stockholm Environmental Conference in 1972. Beesley received his first ambassadorial appointment in 1973. He was made ambassador to Austria, the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

and

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

from 1973 to 1976. He served as High Commissioner to Australia from 1977 to 1980. From 1980 to 1982 he was Canada's first ambassador for disarmament in New York. From 1983 to 1987 he was ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and

GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

. Beesley was a member of the

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

from 1986 to 1991. From 1967 to 1983, Beesley was instrumental in shaping the law of the sea as Canada's ambassador to the Law of the Sea Conference, Canadian head of delegation and chair of the conference drafting committee. In 1987 to 1988, he took a years sabbatical as a visiting professor at the UBC faculty of law. He ended his diplomatic career as ambassador for marine conservation and special environmental adviser to Canada's Foreign Minister from 1989 to 1991. Throughout his career Beesley was involved in protecting the environment and promoting peace. He was involved in major bilateral and multinational treaty negotiations in many subjects, including: outer space; the law of the atmosphere; aerial hijacking; international trade; the International Atomic Energy Agency peaceful nuclear regime; environmental law; human rights law; the law of the arctic; humanitarian law; laws of war; climate change; aboriginal law; refugee law; and international crimes. Beesley was also an active human rights advocate in the World Health Organization (on apartheid) and led the delegation that negotiated the anti-hijacking agreement with Cuba.

Other

Beesley was on the board of directors of the

Sierra Legal Defence Fund Ecojustice Canada (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund prior to September 2007), is a Canadian non-profit environmental law organization that provides funding to lawyers to use litigation to defend and protect the environment. Ecojustice is Canad ...

Awards and recognition

Beesley was made a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1974. In about 1978 he was recognized as a Significant Sig by the

fraternity. Beesley was awarded the Prime Minister's Outstanding Public Service Award in 1983. In 1983 he 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 ...

for his work on the law of the sea and the environment. In 1993, Beesley was awarded the Admiral's Medal for contributions to Canadian maritime affairs. In 1995, he received the

United Nations Association in Canada The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) is a historic charitable organization focused on multilateralism in Canada. Established in 1946, UNA-Canada was a founding member of the World Federation of United Nations Association. Missio ...

medal of honour. In 1998 he was awarded the Red Cross's Human Rights Medal of Honour, the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg Medal, and the Human Rights Medal of Honour from the Vancouver Island Human Rights Coalition. Beesley received an honorary doctor of environmental studies from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

in 1984 and an honorary doctor of laws from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in 1994.

Personal life

In 1954, Beesley married Margaret Ruth Stevens. They had two children, a daughter, Terry Beesley Phipps, and a son, S. Alan Beesley. His first wife died in 1991. He remarried in 2002 to Ruth Lechner. He died in Victoria, B.C., on January 22, 2009.

References

External links

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada - Complete List of Posts - Beesley, John Alan - 2013 archive
* In Memoriam: J. Alan Beesley, Canadian diplomat and UBC Law alumnus

* The Globe and Mail, January 24, 2009
J. Alan Beesley, 81
* UBC Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beesley, John Alan 1927 births 2009 deaths Officers of the Order of Canada University of British Columbia alumni Ambassadors of Canada to Austria High commissioners of Canada to Papua New Guinea High commissioners of Canada to Australia High commissioners of Canada to the Solomon Islands High commissioners of Canada to Vanuatu Permanent representatives of Canada to the United Nations People from Smithers, British Columbia Canadian King's Counsel Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni Canadian officials of the United Nations Canadian lawyers