Michael Dougall Bell (September 10, 1943 – August 24, 2017) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

Foreign Service Officer with 36 years experience in the Department of Foreign Affairs, mostly focused on the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. He was Canada's Ambassador to

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

(1987–90),

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

(1994–98), and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

(1990–92 and 1999–2003). He was also Chair of the Donor Committee of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq.

Early life

Bell was born on September 10, 1943 in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

. He attended

Assumption College School Assumption College Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in Windsor, Ontario. The school was originally established as a private preparatory school by Assumption College, now Assumption University, but it is now a publicly-funded se ...

from 1958–1962, and later attended the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public univers ...

. At Windsor he received his B.A. Hons (1966) and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) 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. ...

(1967) in Political Science and Economic Studies.

Foreign Service

After completing his

he joined the Canadian Foreign Service, holding early positions in Kingston, Jamaica (1968–1970), Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (1970–1972), and Rome, Italy (1981–1983). He Also Served as the Senior Political Officer in

Tel Aviv, Israel Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

from 1975 to 1978. He was Executive Assistant for Middle East Affairs to the Honourable

Robert Stanfield Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...

(1978–1979), and Director of the Middle East Relations Division (1983–1987), Director General for Central and Eastern Europe (1992–1994). He served as Canadian Ambassador to Egypt, Jordan and Israel (twice), as well as High Commissioner to Cyprus. He was also an Arms Inspector for

UNSCOM United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was an inspection regime created by the United Nations to ensure Iraq's compliance with policies concerning Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War. Between 1991 and 19 ...

for a short period.University of Windsor - Research - Prof. M. Bell - Main
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After the Foreign Service

Bell served as the Fellow at the

Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs A weatherhead, also called a weathercap, service head, service entrance cap, or gooseneck (slang) is a weatherproof service drop entry point where overhead power or telephone wires enter a building, or where wires transition between overhead a ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

(1998–99) and from 2003-2005 he was Senior Scholar on Diplomacy at the Munk Centre for International Studies, at 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 institu ...

. Afterwards, Bell joined the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Worl ...

and the Paul Martin (Sr.) Senior Scholar in International Diplomacy,

, where he taught until his death. Bell has been a contributor to '' The Globe and Mail''. He has also published in the

Literary Review of Canada The ''Literary Review of Canada'' is a Canadian magazine that publishes ten times a year in print and online. The magazine features essays and reviews of books on political, cultural, social, and literary topics, as well as original Canadian poe ...

, the Behind the Headlines series of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Ideas: the Arts and Science Review of the University of Toronto, the International Journal, and the Journal of International Law and International Relations.

Later work

Michael Bell was the Paul Martin (Sr.) Senior Scholar on International Diplomacy at the

, where he taught on the law and politics of the modern

. He was also engaged in a major study on the future governance of

Jerusalem's Old City The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem. The Old City is traditionally divided into ...

. The project is designed to stimulate thinking amongst decision makers, respecting options for the future governance of the old city for possible use by negotiators, in the event of renewed negotiations for a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Critics note that this activity was detached from regional realities, "misguided" and unhelpful. He died of liver cancer on 24 August 2017.

Political activity

Bell joined a

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

initiative "to help him persuade voters he has the foreign policy chops to be prime minister in 2015", which was unveiled on 16 December 2014 in the lead-up to the 2015 Canadian election. The group of 14 experts included several candidates for office, a Calgary-based lawyer who advocates for Chinese state-owned enterprises, and another lawyer who wrote "lamenting the lack of diversity and women in positions of power in corporate Canada". In the months between the two events, he was interviewed on the

P5+1 The P5+1 refers to the UN Security Council's five permanent members (the P5); namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany. The P5+1 is often referred to as the E3+3 by European countries. It is a gr ...

Iran deal and said:theglobeandmail.com: "Leaked files show Mossad, Netanyahu differed on timetable for Iran nuclear program"
23 Feb 2015 and he has written in '' The Globe and Mail'' pieces such as:
"To respond to terror, we must distinguish its three varieties"
13 January 2015
"Why a weakened IS gives Harper a political boost"
12 February 2015
"Israel will pay a price for Netanyahu’s Iran obsession"
5 March 2015
"Another round of Netanyahu – for Israelis and the world"
18 March 2015
"Lost in the headlines: Another tragedy looms in Lebanon"
14 April 2015
"Jordan needs more than muscle"
30 April 2015

References

External links

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Complete List of Posts

Michael Bell's Website at the University of Windsor
*http://uwindsor.ca/jerusaleminitiative {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Michael Dougall 1943 births 2017 deaths Harvard University staff Ambassadors of Canada to Jordan Ambassadors of Canada to Israel High Commissioners of Canada to Cyprus Ambassadors of Canada to Egypt People from Windsor, Ontario University of Windsor alumni