April 22, 1997 No. 76

DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced the following diplomatic appointment:

Donald W. Smith, Director of the Legal Advisory Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, as Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia.

Biographical Note

Donald W. Smith (BA, University of Calgary, 1966; LLB, University of Alberta, 1969), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, joined the Department of External Affairs in 1969 and served abroad in Cairo, Dublin and London. In Ottawa, he was assigned to divisions concerned with Africa and the Middle East and with United Nations Political and Institutional Affairs. The greater part of his headquarters career has taken place in the Legal Bureau, where he has served as Deputy Director of both the Legal Operations and the Legal Advisory Divisions. In 1979/80, he took leave from the Department to work as a lawyer with the firm of Harris and Co. in Calgary. Between 1980 and 1982 he was Head of the Environmental Law Section of the Legal Operations Division. Since 1991, Mr. Smith has been Director of the Legal Advisory Division. Mr. Smith is married to Elizabeth Ann Smith and they have two daughters, Jennifer and Fiona. He succeeds Graham Green.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Catherine Lappe

Director of Communications

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca