John Holmes
| Author | Robert Willmot,Peter C. Dobell |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070207803300106 |
| Date | 01 March 1978 |
| Published date | 01 March 1978 |
| Subject Matter | Opinion and Policy |
PETER
C.
DOBELL
9c
ROBERT
WILLMOT
John
Holmes
John
Holmes
first
achieved
prominence in the
'fifties
as
a
principal
counsellor
to
Mr
Pearson
during
a
number
of
international
epi-
sodes
with
which
Canada's
name
is
closely
associated.
However,
we
know
of
Holmes's
role
and
contribution
during
this
period
only
from
hearsay,
and
only
in
a
general
sense.
The
official
documents
covering
the
years
when
he
was
most
productive
are
not
yet
open
to
public
scrutiny.
Mr
Pearson's memoirs
offer
little
help.
In
the
second
volume he quotes from
two
despatches which
Holmes
sent
from
Moscow
in
1948,
when
he
was
charg6
d'affaires
there.
They reported
on
Russian
attitudes
to
war
and
the risk
of
a
sur-
prise
attack
on the
West in
the
same
lucid,
graphic
style
for
which
Holmes
is
now
well known.
For
the
rest,
the
memoirs
note
Holmes's
presence
or
activity on
a
few
occasions
-
advising
on
Korea,
accompanying
Mr
Pearson
to
Moscow
in
1955,
taking
soundings at
United
Nations
headquarters
during
the
Suez
crisis
-
but
say
nothing
about
his
advice,
ideas,
or
influence.
Holmes's
two
collections
of
speeches
and
writings
are
even
less
informative.'
It
is
an
extraordinary
comment
on
his
discretion
and
self-deprecation
that
a
man
so
centrally
involved
in
the
elaboration
and
execution
of
Canadian
foreign
policy
during
the
period
of
its
Mr Dobell,
the director
of
the Parliamentary
Centre
for Foreign
Affairs
and
Foreign
Trade,
knows
John
Holmes
through
the
foreign
service
and
long
associa-
tion
within
the
CIA.
Mr
Willmot,
a
special
assistant
at
the
Parliamentary
Centre,
is
a former
student
of
John
Holmes.
!
The
Better
Part
of
Valour:
Essays
on
Canadian
Diplomacy
(Toronto/Montreal:
McClelland
and
Stewart
1970);
Canada:
A
Middle-Aged
Power
(Toronto:
McClelland
and
Stewart
in
association
with the
Institute
of
Canadian
Studies,
Carleton University
1976).
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