Interview with Carolyn McAskie: Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Carolyn McAskie, conducted 13th May 2013 in London, as part of the Commonwealth Oral History Project. The project aims to produce a unique digital research resource on the oral history of the Commonwealth since 1965 through sixty oral history interviews with leading figures in the recent history of the organisation. It will provide an essential research tool for anyone investigating the history of the Commonwealth and will serve to promote interest in and understanding of the organisation. Biography: McAskie, Carolyn. Born in Glasgow, Scotland. Joined the Canadian civil service in 1968. Assistant Director of Finance and Personnel, Commonwealth Secretariat, 1975-80. Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, 1986-89. Career with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), where she served as Vice-President for Africa and the Middle East Programs and Vice-President of CIDA’s Multilateral Programmes Branch, holding the rank of Assistant Deputy Minister from 1993-99. Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations Secretariat, 1999-2004. Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Operation in Burundi, 2004-06. Assistant Secretary General for Peacebuilding, United Nations, 2006-08. Senior Fellow, Graduate School of Policy and International Affairs, University of Ottawa.