A.D.P. Heeney: The Orderly Under-Secretary, 1949-1952

A.D.P. Heeney was under-secretary of the department of external affairs from 1949-1952. When he became under-secretary, the department was under strain. It had grown rapidly in size and scope in the 1940s, but it did not function smoothly. Heeney excelled at administration. During his term, he established new divisions and sections, overhauled the administrative systems of the department, increased communication, and improved work conditions for employees. Heeney also had definite views about the substance of foreign policy and the conduct of Canadian diplomacy. He believed that trade was a vital component of foreign policy. And he believed that the best way to conduct relations with the US was through quiet diplomacy, an approach that fell out of favour as anti-American sentiment swelled in Canadain the 1960s. Although he had a long-term influence on the development of the department, he was more of a renovator than an architect

In the National Interest: Dominions\u27 Support for Britain and the Commonwealth after the Second World War

Was British confidence that the Commonwealth could bolster its international status and extend its global reach after the Second World War a product of self-delusion or nostalgia? This paper examines three crucial aspects of relations between Britain and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in the 1940s – diplomacy, economics and defence – to show the extensive and tangible support that the ‘old dominions’ extended to Britain. They opted to back Britain because it served their individual national interests well. British hopes that the post-war Commonwealth would be an effective association were founded on ample evidence, although the British desire to lead and dominate was confounded by the fact that Ottawa, Canberra, Wellington and Pretoria were national centres in their own right