| Ambassador of Canada to Afghanistan | |
|---|---|
| Incumbent David Sproule (special representative) since October 7, 2022 | |
| Seat | Doha, Qatar |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of Canada |
| Appointer | Governor General of Canada |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Inaugural holder | Charles Eustace McGaughey |
| Formation | March 21, 1968 |
The ambassador of Canada to Afghanistan is the official representative of the Canadian government to the government of Afghanistan. The official title for the ambassador is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The current senior Canadian diplomat titled as the Special Representative of Canada to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is David Sproule who was appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on October 7, 2022.
The Embassy of Canada is located at Street No. 15, House No. 256, Wazir Akbar Khan in Kabul, Afghanistan.
History of diplomatic relations
Main article: Afghanistan–Canada relationsDiplomatic relations between Canada and Afghanistan were established in 1968, with the first ambassador, Charles Eustace McGaughey, appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson on March 21, 1968. Diplomatic relations were severed in December 1979 the change in government resulting from the Soviet–Afghan War. Diplomatic relations were restored between Canada and Afghanistan on January 22, 2002, following the 2001 Bonn Conference and the appointment of Hamid Karzai as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration. Relations between Canada and Afghanistan were suspended on following the fall of Kabul, and the taliban take over. The most recent Ambassador was Reid Sirrs.
List of Canadian ambassadors to Afghanistan
| No. | Name | Term of office | Career | Prime Minister nominated by | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start Date | PoC. | End Date | ||||||
| 1 | Charles Eustace McGaughey | March 21, 1968 | September 17, 1968 | July 10, 1969 | Career | Lester B. Pearson (1963-1968) |
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| 2 | Charles John Small | July 15, 1969 | October 12, 1969 | August 19, 1972 | Career | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968-1979) |
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| 3 | John Gaylard Hadwen | May 23, 1972 | July 20, 1974 | 1974 | Career | |||
| 4 | Keith William MacLellan | June 10, 1974 | October 14, 1974 | July 12, 1977 | Career | |||
| 5 | William Frank Stone | June 30, 1977 | September 25, 1977 | August 25, 1978 | Career | |||
| 6 | Albert Douglas Small | November 23, 1978 | November 8, 1979 | 1979 | Career | |||
| — | 1979 – January 22, 2002, Diplomatic relations severed as the Canadian government refused to recognize the Afghanistan government | |||||||
| 7 | Konrad Sigurdson | January 24, 2002 | 2003 | Career | Jean Chrétien (1993-2003) |
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| 8 | Christopher Alexander | July 31, 2003 | September 3, 2003 | 2005 | Career | |||
| 9 | David Sproule | October 5, 2005 | December 2005 | April 2007 | Career | Paul Martin (2003-2006) |
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| 10 | Arif Lalani | April 24, 2007 | August 2008 | Career | Stephen Harper (2006-2015) |
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| 11 | Ron Hoffmann | September 2, 2008 | July 2009 | Career | ||||
| 12 | William Crosbie | June 9, 2009 | September 2011 | Career | ||||
| — | Shelley Whiting (Chargé d'affaires) |
November 21, 2011 | May 20, 2012 | Career | ||||
| 13 | Glenn V. Davidson | August 8, 2011 | June 2, 2012 | July 2013 | Non-Career | |||
| — | James Hill (Chargé d'affaires) |
July 24, 2013 | September 28, 2013 | Career | ||||
| — | David Collins (Chargé d'affaires) |
August 20, 2013 | September 15, 2013 | Career | ||||
| 14 | Deborah Lyons | July 10, 2013 | October 16, 2013 | August 2016 | Career | |||
| 15 | Kenneth Neufeld | June 1, 2016 | September 4, 2016 | August 2017 | Career | Justin Trudeau (2015–Present) |
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| 16 | François Rivest | August 17, 2017 | August 28, 2017 | August 2018 | Career | |||
| 17 | David Metcalfe | September 4, 2018 | October 8, 2018 | October 2020 | Career | |||
| 18 | Reid Sirrs | October 14, 2020 | December 29, 2020 | Career | ||||
| — | David Sproule Special Representative of Canada |
October 7, 2022 | Present | Career | ||||
See also
References
- "Canada-Afghanistan relations". Government of Canada. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
Canada's Special Representative for Afghanistan, David Sproule, is currently based in Doha, where he coordinates with allies on a joint international response to the crisis in Afghanistan.
- ^ "Orders In Council PC 2022-1088". orders-in-council.canada.ca. Government of Canada. October 7, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ DeLong 2020, p. 13.
- McKenzie-Sutter, Holly (August 16, 2021). "Canada closes embassy in Afghanistan as Taliban forces advance on Kabul". Canada's National Observer. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
- "Ottawa names career diplomat as Afghan ambassador". CTV News. Ottawa. The Canadian Press. September 4, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
- "Ottawa appoints new ambassador to Afghanistan". Retrieved June 22, 2009.
- "Canada Appoints Next Ambassador to Afghanistan". June 16, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
- Global Affairs Canada (September 7, 2018). "Diplomatic appointments". gcnws (Press release). Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- Bibliography
- DeLong, Linwood (2020). A Guide to Canadian Diplomatic Relations 1925-2019 (PDF). Calgary: Canadian Global Affairs Institute. ISBN 978-1-77397-115-5.
External links
- "Heads of Post List – Afghanistan". international.gc.ca. Global Affairs Canada.