Walter Alexander Riddell
| Walter Alexander Riddell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
5 August 1881 Stratford, Ontario |
| Died |
27 July 1963 (aged 81) Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
| Known for | Proposing sanctions against Mussolini |
Walter Alexander Riddell (5 August 1881 – 27 July 1963) was a Canadian civil servant, diplomat, and academic. He was the Canadian Advisory Officer to the League of Nations from 1924 to 1937.
Born in Stratford, Ontario to a single working parent, Riddell was the deputy minister of the Department of Labour for the Government of Ontario. From 1920 to 1925, he was the Canadian delegate to the International Labour Organization in Geneva. From 1924 to 1937, he was the Canadian Advisory Officer to the League of Nations. From 1940 to 1946, he was the Canadian High Commissioner to New Zealand. He later taught International Relations at the University of Toronto.[1]
At the League of Nations, he is responsible for what is known as The Riddell Incident, where due to his headstrong nature and he tried, oblivious to the kittenish desires of Mackenzie King, to place sanctions on Italy which at that point was dominated by Mussolini. The sanctions came to be known in the international press as the Canadian proposal, whereupon the government blanched because they were unready to occupy the centre of the world diplomatic stage. He ultimately failed when the Mackenzie King government decided to repudiate the sanctions that he had proposed. The Minister of Justice, Ernest Lapointe, reported to Parliament on 2 December 1935 that:[2]
| “ | [Riddell] represented only his personal opinion, and his views as a member of the committee and not the views of the Canadian government. | ” |
Later that month, the Hoare–Laval Pact kerfluffle killed the sanctions regime and left Mussolini to his Abyssinian devices. Churchill would later need to evict him during the East African campaign of World War II, in order to protect their Egyptian position.
In 1936 King all but declared the death of the League, after Selassie pleaded for help from foreign nations in his 7 June 1936 address to League of Nations.[2]
References
- ↑ Bothwell 2007
- 1 2 Creighton 1970, p. 222
Bibliography
- Bothwell, Robert: Walter Alexander Riddell article at The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Creighton, Donald (1970). Canada's First Century. Macmillan of Canada.
- In Defence of Canada: Appeasement and Rearmament, James Eayrs
- Walter Alexander Riddell fonds
External links
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None |
Canadian Advisory Officer to the League of Nations 1924–1937 |
Succeeded by Humphrey Hume Wrong |
| Preceded by None |
Canadian High Commissioner to New Zealand 1940–1946 |
Succeeded by Alfred Rive |