Honorary degree citation - Margaret Catley-Carlson

By: Gail Valaskakis, November 1989

Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you Margaret Catley-Carlson, whose distinguished career with the Canadian government has, for more than twenty years, enhanced Canada's contribution to international development.

In July 1989, Margaret Catley-Carlson was appointed Canada's Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare. She brings to this post the vision, forthrightness, intelligence and commitment to excellence which have marked her many years of public service around the globe. Since joining the Department of External Affairs in 1966, she has served as Second Secretary at the Canadian High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka, as Economic Counsellor at the Canadian High Commission in London, and as the Department's Assistant Under Secretary for North-South relations, trade and general economic commodity and development policy. She also held postings in the Department's Aid and Development Division and the Commercial Policy Division.

Margaret Catley-Carlson's expertise and leadership in international affairs is widely recognized throughout Canada and abroad, particularly in relation to her outstanding tenure with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Appointed the agency's Vice-President of Multilateral Relations in 1978, Ms. Catley-Carlson served as CIDA's Senior Vice-President from 1983 to 1989. She has also served the United Nations in several capacities, as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of Operations at UNICEF, and as a member of the United Nations Development Program Governing Council.

Born in Regina and educated at the University of British Columbia, Margaret Catley-Carlson has done postgraduate work in international relations and Latin American affairs at the Institute of International Relations at the University of the West Indies. She also holds honorary degrees from the University of Regina and Saint Mary's University.

Throughout her career, Margaret Catley-Carlson has attached great importance to the role universities play in international study, research and development. It is then with particular pride that we recognize today her vision, her achievements, her dedication.

Mr. Chancellor, it is a privilege to present to you, on behalf of the Senate and by the authority of the Board of Governors, Margaret Catley-Carlson, so that you may confer on her the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.