Robert Ford (Canadian diplomat)

This article is about a poet, translator and diplomat. For other people named Robert Ford, see Robert Ford (disambiguation).

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 by	Wilfrid Bertram McCullough (Chargé d'Affaires)
Succeeded by	Jean Morin
Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia
In office 1958–1961
Preceded by	George Ignatieff
Succeeded by	Gordon Gale Crean
Canadian Ambassador to Egypt
In office 1961–1964
Preceded by	Arnold Cantwell Smith
Succeeded by	Jean Chapdelaine
Canadian Ambassador to Sudan
In office 1961–1964
Succeeded by	Jean Chapdelaine
Canadian Ambassador to the Soviet Union
In office 1964–1980
Preceded by	Arnold Cantwell Smith
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Pearson
Canadian Ambassador to Mongolia
In office 1974–1980
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Pearson
Personal details
Born	Robert Arthur Douglas Ford (1915-01-08)January 8, 1915 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died	April 12, 1998(1998-04-12) (aged 83) Vichy, France
Occupation	Diplomat, 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.

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

Bibliography

• 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

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

References

• "FORD, ROBERT A.D., 1915-1998". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 31, 2005.

External links

• Robert Ford's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia