David M. Malone named a Distinguished Alumnus

April 8, 2016

David M. Malone, Under-Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) and Rector of the United Nations University (UNU) in Tokyo, was named a Distinguished Alumnus, an honour granted jointly by the School and the Association des diplômés de HEC Montréal at the annual alumni reunion on April 7. He was recognized for his exceptional contribution to raising Canada’s profile in the world.

A few highlights of his remarkable and unusual career:

• When he graduated with a BBA in 1975, he was one of the first Anglophones to attend HEC Montréal.
• At age 21, he took his first job with External Affairs Canada.
• His first posting was in the Middle East, at the Canadian embassy in Cairo. There he was placed in charge of consular and cultural affairs, as well as internal Egyptian politics.
• He was appointed to head the Canadian aid program to Sudan, in 1978.
• Later he was promoted to Vice-Consul for Libya.
• From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Malone served as Canada’s representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and later as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in New York.
• From 1994 to 1998, he was the Director General of the Policy, International Organizations and Global Issues Bureaus within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. 
• From 1998 to 2004, he was President of the International Peace Academy (now the International Peace Institute), in New York, where he directed a team of 40 researchers.
• From 2004 to 2006, he oversaw Canada’s economic and multilateral diplomacy within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
• In 2006, he was appointed Canada’s High Commissioner to India and also non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan and Nepal, meaning that he was in charge of Canada’s largest diplomatic mission.
• In 2008, he became President of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
• He joined the United Nations University in March 2013.

 

And that’s not all!

• Between all these achievements, Mr. Malone found time to write 13 books, as well as contributing to several publications, including the Literary Review of Canada, The Globe and Mail and The International Herald Tribune.
• In addition to earning a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and a PhD in International Relations from Oxford University, he has taught at Columbia University, New York University (Faculty of Law) and Sciences Po (Paris).
• He is fluent in English and French, and speaks Arabic, German and Persian.

Photo: United Nations University. Video: Jean-François Cournoyer-Quintal (HEC 2007)