Canadian Diplomat to Receive Honorary Degree

Posted May 21, 1997


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
97-05-07-OTHER

Canadian diplomat to receive honorary degree

Saskatoon SK, May 20, 1997 -- Former diplomat and Saskatchewan
native, Robert Elliott, will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws on May 22
at the university?s spring convocation.

Born in southern Saskatchewan, Mr. Elliott completed his secondary
school in Regina before coming to Saskatoon to attend the university
where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and
History in 1949.

Dr. J.W.T. Spinks and Professor George Britnell were largely instrumental
in sponsoring him to the British Colonial Service in 1951. He attended a
Colonial Office course at the University of London, and was assigned to
the Western Region of Nigeria. After five years as a District Officer he
joined the Canadian Department of External Affairs in 1956.

Mr. Elliott went on to serve twice with the Canadian Delegation to the UN
General Assembly as advisor on the Middle East after which he went to
London as First Secretary at the Canadian High Commission in 1963. In
1965 Mr. Elliott became the High Commission Officer in charge of
Tanzanian interests in London.

With the outbreak in Nigeria of the civil war in 1967, he was transferred
to the Canadian High Commission in Lagos. Following an assignment as
Ambassador to Algeria, he was posted to the Canadian Embassy in Paris
as Minister Plenipotentiary.

In 1980, after four years in Paris, Mr. Elliott was named Ambassador to
Egypt with concurrent accreditation to Sudan. He returned to Ottawa in
1983 as Director General for the Middle East. From 1985 to 1988 he
served as Canadian Ambassador to Hungary, following which he returned
to Lagos for three years for his final diplomatic posting, that of Canadian
High Commissioner to Nigeria.

For his last year prior to retirement, Mr. Elliott chose to return to the
University of Saskatchewan as a visiting professor in the department of
political science where he taught an immensely popular course:
Diplomacy. At the conclusion of that year, the College of Arts & Science
recognized his contributions to the University by establishing the Robert
Elliott Book Prize to the graduating student with the highest average in
the International Relations program.

For more information, please contact:

Iain MacLean
University Secretary
(306) 966-4632