ALAN WILLIAM MCDONALD SULLIVAN

(1938 - 2025) A native of Cornwall, Ontario, Alan was a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and Queen's University Law School. In 1964, he joined what was then the Department of External Affairs, beginning a long and distinguished career as a Canadian foreign service officer. His tenure at External Affairs coincided with what has been described as the golden age of Canadian diplomacy. In his over 30 years in government, Alan was at the centre of many of the country's major foreign policy achievements, becoming one of Canada's most experienced diplomats, serving this country in Trinidad, in Indochina, at the Canadian Mission to the United Nations in Geneva in the 1970s, then as chargé d'affaires in Syria and Lebanon. While in Beirut, during the harrowing civil war in that country, he was held hostage for many hours by a disaffected local gang. Surviving that ordeal, Alan had a series of senior appointments as ambassador to Ireland, to Austria and to Italy and lastly as Canadian Consul General in New York in the early 1990s, one of this country's most important consular posts. In all these assignments, Alan represented Canada with great distinction, in the highest of professional standards and in the finest traditions of the Canadian foreign service. A dedicated diplomatist, he believed in the country and its legacy with unshakable conviction. In Ottawa, Alan had a succession of increasingly senior assignments, including as Assistant Deputy Minister at External Affairs and Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet for Foreign Affairs and Defense, the advisor to the Prime Minister on international policy. He left government service in 1995, to become President of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (now called the Canadian International Council) in Toronto, a position he fulfilled (1995-1998) with the same dedication as he was known for while in government. During his time at the CIIA, he worked with consummate skill to broaden the Institute's activities and its connections across Canada and to strengthen the engagement and financial support of the Canadian business community. Alan also served on the board of the Ontario Heritage Foundation during this period. On ending his term at the CIIA, Alan retired to his beloved Williamstown home in Glengarry County, where his family had deep roots going back to the United Empire Loyalist days. He was a great booster of the role of the County in Canadian history and was a proud supporter of the Glengarry Historical Society, Sir John Johnson Manor House and the Glengarry, Nor'Westers & Loyalist Museum in Williamstown, the Williamstown Fair, and the Maxville Highland Games. Alan was thoughtful, intellectually curious, friendly, and it was always a joy to be in his company. He loved gatherings with old and new friends, excelled in bridge, was a great raconteur, a determined pianist and a lover of music of all genres, from classical to traditional Irish and Scottish melodies. Alan treated everyone with respect and courtesy. He will be remembered with great fondness by his many friends and former colleagues as a fine Canadian and, more than that, as an outstanding individual. Alan will be missed by his nephew, Andrew McGibbon, of Ottawa. A memorial and celebration of life will take place in the spring. Funeral arrangements are under the care and direction of Wilson Funeral Home, 822 Pitt Street, Cornwall, ON (613-938-3888).