Gherson, Randolph, 1928- : Born in Cairo, Egypt, on 9 January, 1928, a British subject by birth, Randolph Gherson studied at the London School of Economics (B.Sc. Economics, International relations, 1949, and post-graduate studies, 1949-1954) and the Academy of International Law, at the Hague (LSE scholar, 1949). He won the Gladstone Memorial Prize for his PH.D. thesis summary in 1954.
Gherson married Joan Evelyn Slater in 1951 and has two children, Giles and Diane, born on 1 March 1957. From 1949 to 1950, Gherson was research assistant for the Economist Intelligence Unit in London. In 1950, he worked for the Economic Research Division of the Economic Co-operation Administration (Marshall Plan). From 1952 to 1958, he occupied the position of economist and assistant to the Chairman with the International Wheat Council in London.
Gherson emigrated to Canada in 1958 and became a Canadian citizen in 1963. He joined the Department of Trade and Commerce in Ottawa in 1958 as a special assistant to the Chief, Grain Division, in connection with preparations for the United Nations Wheat Conference. Within the Department, he held the following positions: Head, Commodity Trade Policy Division (1963-1964), Head, General relations and international organizations (1964-1966), and Head, US Division (1966-1968). In 1968, he was appointed Deputy Head of the Canadian Mission to the European Communities in Brussels, Belgium. He remained at that position until 1972 and was acting Head of the Mission from 1970-1971. From 1972 to 1976, Gherson served as Minister-Counsellor (Economic) at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
In 1976, Gherson returned to Ottawa to take up the position of Director general of the Western Hemisphere Bureau in the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce. Since 1980, he has held the following positions within the Department of External Affairs: Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris (1980-1983), Director general of the European Summit Countries and European Community Bureau (1983-1986), Chief Air Negotiator (1986-1991), and Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation (1991-1994). During his posting at the OECD, Gherson also occupied the position of Vice-chairman of the Executive Committee of the OECD from 1982 to 1983. He retired from the Canadian public service in February 1994. Mr. Gherson has received the Confederation of Canada Medal (Feb. 1994), the Government of Canada Merit Award (May 1994) and the Meritorious Service medal (30 July 1994).
