Hadwen, John G.

John Gaylard Hadwen was born in Toronto in 1923, the son of Dr. Seymour and Estelle Alden Hadwen. He was educated at the University of Toronto Schools, Trinity College, the London School of Economics, and the Universitaire des Hautes Études Internationales (Geneva). He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1950, and served first in Pakistan, New York, Oslo, and Ottawa. He was High Commissioner to Malaysia and Singapore and Ambassador to Burma 1967-71, Ambassador to Pakistan and Afghanistan 1972-74, High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to Nepal 1979-83, Director General of the East Asia Bureau 1983-85 and Director General of the Bureau for Security Services, 1985-86. He also served as assistant to Lester B. Pearson and to Paul Martin Sr. He was the author of numerous essays and articles and completed a book-length manuscript, unpublished, on the Colombo Plan.

The Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific was conceived at the Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1950. It was launched on 1 July 1951 as a co-operative venture for the economic and social advancement of the peoples of South and Southeast Asia. Originally it was called the Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia. It has grown from a group of seven Commonwealth nations - Australia, Britain, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand, and Pakistan - into an international organization of 26 countries, including non-Commonwealth countries. When it adopted a new constitution in 1977, its name was changed to The Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific. The name change was to reflect the expanded composition of its enhanced membership and the scope of its activities. The administrative structure of the Colombo Plan consists of the Consultative Committee (elected political leaders or senior representatives of member governments), the Council for Technical Cooperation, and the Colombo Plan Bureau, headed by a director and staff, whose role is to fulfil matters assigned to them by the Consultative Committee. These three groups are supported by the Information Section headed by a Principal Information Officer, responsible for publications issued by the Colombo Plan. [Source: John Hadwen fonds and www.colombo-plan.org]

John Hadwen was married to the former Shirley Vivyan Brown and had four sons: Timothy, Peter, Matthew, and Anthony. He died at his cottage near Dwight, Ontario, in 2007.

2016