In Memoriam: J. Alan Beesley, Canadian diplomat and UBC Law alumnus

Ambassador J. Alan Beesley, O.C., Q.C., died peacefully with family at his side in Victoria on Thursday January 22.  Born in Smithers B.C. on August 17, 1927, he studied law at the University of British Colombia receiving his LLB with the class of 1950.  He had a long and distinguished career in the Canadian foreign service including serving as Canada’s first Ambassador for Disarmament, New York 1980-1982, Canada’s High Commissioner to Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu 1977-1980, Canada’s Ambassador to Austria, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and UNIDO 1973–1976, Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and GATT 1983-1987 and Assistant Under-Secretary and Legal Advisor to External Affairs from 1972-1973.  He served as Ambassador for Marine Conservation and Special Environmental Advisor to Canada’s Foreign Minister 1989-1991.  From 1967-1983 as Ambassador to the Law of the Sea Conference, Canadian Head of Delegation, and Chair of the Conference Drafting Committee, Ambassador Beesley was instrumental in shaping the Law of the Sea Convention. Alan Beesley was the Canadian delegate to the Legal Committee of the Stockholm Environmental Conference in 1972 and throughout his career was deeply committed to protecting the environment and promoting peace. 

Over his 35 year career he was involved in many of the major bilateral and multilateral negotiations that characterized the later half of the twentieth century, helping to establish treaties on an enormous range of subject including - Disarmament; Outer Space; the Law of the Atmosphere; the Law of the Sea; Aerial Hijacking; International Trade; the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Peaceful Nuclear Regime; Environmental Law; Human Rights Law; the Law of the Artic; Humanitarian Law and the Laws of War; Climate Change; Aboriginal Law; Refugee Law; and International Crimes. He was also an active human rights advocate in the World Health Organization (on apartheid), led the delegation that negotiated the anti-hijacking agreement with Cuba and was on the board of directors of the Sierra Legal Defense Fund. In 1987 he took a years’ sabbatical as a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law.  He practiced law at Crease and Company in Victoria, prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1956 where his first posting was to Israel.

Over the years Ambassador Beesley received many medals and honours including the Order of Canada in 1984 for his extensive work on the Law of the Sea and the Environment; the Prime Minister’s Outstanding Public Service Award in 1983, Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2002, the Admiral’s Medal for Contributions to Canadian Maritime Affairs 1993, the United Nations Association of Canada Medal of Honour 1995, and the Red Cross’s Henry Dunant Award; the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg Medal; the Human Rights Medal of Honour, Vancouver Island Human Rights Coalition 1998.  He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1974 and served as a member of the International Law Commission from 1986-1991 and received an Honorary Doctor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Dalhousie University. 

A tribute to Ambassador Beesley ran in the Globe and Mail and can be read here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090124.wbeesley0124/BNStory/National/home