Robert Ford (Canadian diplomat)

Robert Arthur Douglas Ford, CC (January 8, 1915 – April 12, 1998) was a Canadian poet, translator and diplomat.

Robert Ford
Canadian Ambassador to Colombia
In office
1957–1958
Preceded byWilfrid Bertram McCullough (Chargé d'Affaires)
Succeeded byJean Morin
Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia
In office
1958–1961
Preceded byGeorge Ignatieff
Succeeded byGordon Gale Crean
Canadian Ambassador to Egypt
In office
1961–1964
Preceded byArnold Cantwell Smith
Succeeded byJean Chapdelaine
Canadian Ambassador to Sudan
In office
1961–1964
Succeeded byJean Chapdelaine
Canadian Ambassador to the Soviet Union
In office
1964–1980
Preceded byArnold Cantwell Smith
Succeeded byGeoffrey Pearson
Canadian Ambassador to Mongolia
In office
1974–1980
Succeeded byGeoffrey Pearson
Personal details
Born
Robert Arthur Douglas Ford

(1915-01-08)January 8, 1915
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
DiedApril 12, 1998(1998-04-12) (aged 83)
Vichy, France
OccupationDiplomat, translator, poet

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of former London Free Press Editor-in Chief and University of Western Ontario Chancellor Arthur Ford, he received his B.A. in history and English in 1937 from the University of Western Ontario and a M.A. in history in 1940 from Cornell University. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1940 and was Ambassador to Colombia (1957–1959), Yugoslavia (1959–1961), United Arab Republic (1961–1963), and to the USSR (1964–1980). Ford served as a special representative of Canada at the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade.[1]

In 1971 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Bibliography

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  • Window on the North, Toronto: The Ryerson Press (1956), winner of the 1956 Governor General's Award for Poetry or Drama
  • The Solitary City, Toronto : McClelland & Stewart (1969)
  • Holes in Space, Toronto : Hounslow Press (1979)
  • Needle in the Eye, Oakville, Ontario : Mosaic Press(1983)
  • Doors, Words, and Silence, Oakville, Ontario : Mosaic Press(1985)
  • Russian Poetry: A Personal Anthology, Oakville, Ont.: Mosaic Press (1984)
  • Dostoevsky and Other Poems, Oakville, Ont., Mosaic Press (1988)
  • Our Man in Moscow,Toronto: U of Toronto P (1989)
  • Diplomate et Poète à Moscou trans. SHERR, Robert (text) France: Ed. François-Luc Collignon, 1990.
  • Coming from Afar, Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, 1990.

Further reading

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  • Charles A. Ruud (September 2009). The Constant Diplomat: Robert Ford in Moscow. McGill Queen University Press. ISBN 9780773535855.

References

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