Terence MacDermot

Who was Terence MacDermot?

Terence William Leighton MacDermot was a Canadian diplomat and academic.

Born in Ropley, Jamaica, MacDermot grew up in Montreal, Quebec. He attended McGill University from 1913 to 1916 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1917 while serving in the 7th Canadian Siege Battery during World War I. A Rhodes scholar, he received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in 1922 from New College, Oxford. From 1922 to 1923, he taught at Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. He returned to Montreal in 1923 where he taught at Lower Canada College and in McGill’s history department. In 1929, he was appointed assistant professor. From 1925 to 1930, he was editor of the McGill News.

In 1934, he was appointed national secretary of the League of Nations Society in Canada. In 1935, he was appointed principal of Upper Canada College.

During World War II, he served for the War Service Department and then as a Chief Army Examiner for the Toronto district. In 1944, he joined the Department of External Affairs. He was Canadian High Commissioner to South Africa from 1950 to 1954, Canadian Ambassador to Greece and Israel from 1954 to 1957, and Canadian High Commissioner to Australia from 1957 to 1961. He taught political science at Bishop's University from 1961 to 1966.