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Background
Lucie Edwards retired from the Department of Foreign Affairs in December 2009. Her last assignment in a 33 year career with DFAIT was as Chief Strategist and Head of the Office for Transformation. To mark her retirement, she was awarded the Department's Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence for 2009.
She had previously served in Ottawa as Assistant Deputy Minister for Corporate Services (1996-99), Director General of the Global Issues Bureau (1995-96) , Director of Middle East Relations (1992-93) and Chair of the Southern Africa Task Force (1989-93).
Overseas, she served as Canadian High Commissioner to India (2003-06), South Africa (1999-2003) and Kenya (1993-95). She was awarded the Public Service Award of Excellence, its highest award, for her humanitarian work as Ambassador to Rwanda in 1995. She has also served at the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv (1977-1980) and in South Africa (1986-89), where she led Canada's human rights work in the black townships. She has worked extensively at the United Nations, notably as Permanent Representative to UNEP and HABITAT (1993-95), and as head of delegation to the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Throughout her career she has specialized in international development, with a particular interest in food security and rural poverty in Africa and South Asia.
Mrs. Edwards has played an active leadership role in the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), notably serving as Chair of the World Agroforestry Centre from 1999 to 2003. She currently serves on the board of icipe.
Mrs. Edwards' primary research interest is the use of science and technology for the poor, with a particular focus on initiatives to support the "bottom billion" in Africa and South Asia.
Lucie has been appointed Ashley Fellow at Trent University for the 2011-2012 academic year.
Select Publications
- "We are Dust: Human Security and the San People of Southern Africa" Human Security Conference University of Toronto/University of Waterloo December 2009.
- "Canadian Foreign Policy Towards Africa", South African Yearbook of International Affairs, South African Institute of International Affairs, 2001.
- "Day 58 of the Rwanda Crisis", Bout de Papier, Vol. 12, 1995.
- "Freedom is Rising", Musicworks, No. 43.
- "Resource Development in Labrador", Alternatives 1977.
Academic/Professional Awards
- Public Service Award of Excellence 1995 for humanitarian work in Rwanda, Government of Canada.
- Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence 2009, Department of Foreign Affairs
- Merit Award, 1994 for consular operations in Rwanda, Department of Foreign Affairs
- Merit Award, 1989 for human rights work in South Africa, Department of Foreign Affairs.
