Campbell, Ross, 1918-2007 : Ross Campbell, Canadian diplomat, was born on November 4, 1918 at Toronto, Ontario to William Marshall Campbell and Helen Isabel Harris. He received his secondary education at University of Toronto Schools. In 1940 he graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the Faculty of Law, Trinity College, University of Toronto.
Mr. Campbell served during World War II and early in 1940 enlisted in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was posted on loan to the Royal Navy for officer training at sea and after five months on convoy duty in the North Atlantic in 1940-1941, aboard HMS Churchill, he was commissioned in the Royal Canadian Volunteer Naval Reserve. He transferred to Coastal Forces where he spent the next four years as the Commanding Officer of a succession of Motor Torpedo Boats, initially as First Lieutenant in the English Channel operating out of Dover and Portsmouth. He was posted to the Mediterranean Theater in 1942 where, during the next two years, he was in continuous operations as commanding officer of a Motor Torpedo Boat throughout the Western Desert war, the siege of Malta, the North African campaign, the Sicily and Italy invasions and Aegean campaign. He participated in the Normandy invasion and actions out of Lowestoft, England and Ostende, Belgium until the end of the war in Europe. In January 1944 he was invested with the Distinguished Service Cross for services in action by King George VI at Buckingham Palace. He retired as a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, October 1945 and was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander (Reserve) (Retired) in 1949.
On June 6, 1945 at Beccles, Suffolk, England, he married Penelope "Pippa" Grantham-Hill, the daughter of Dr. Clermont Grantham Hill, M.B.E, Doctor of Medicine and Surgery and Blanche Grantham-Hill. From 1940 to 1941 Penelope Grantham-Hill had studied Arts at Newnham College, Cambridge University, England and was a four-year veteran of the Women's Royal Naval Service, the women's branch of the Royal Navy. Penelope and Ross Campbell had two children, Hugh Ross Campbell, L.L.B., B.Sc. born at Beccles, Suffolk, England in 1946 and Timothy Keith Campbell, born at Sandvika, Norway in 1947.
On his discharge from the Royal Canadian Navy, Mr. Campbell joined the Department of External Affairs in 1945, beginning his career in the Legal Division. As a member of Canada's diplomatic corps and a senior civil servant in the Department of External Affairs, he held appointments of increasing responsibility in Canada and abroad. As a Foreign Service Officer, he served as Third Secretary of the Canadian Legation, Oslo, Norway, 1946-1947, and then Second Secretary at Copenhagen, Denmark, 1947-1950 and First Secretary at the Canadian Embassy at Ankara, Turkey, 1952-1956. He was Head of the European Division of the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa from 1950-1952 and Head of the Middle East Division from 1957-1959. From 1959 until 1962 Mr. Campbell served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for External Affairs. From 1962 to 1964, he was Assistant Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs responsible for United Nations and international security affairs. During this period the Government of Canada faced difficult security issues surrounding the acceptance of nuclear weapons in Canada at the urging of the United States Government. During this time Mr. Campbell was also advisor to the Canadian Delegations to United Nation General Assemblies and to the Canadian Ministerial Delegations to the North Atlantic Council from 1958-1964. In 1964 he was made Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia and in 1965 concurrently accredited Ambassador to Algeria; he held both posts until 1967. In 1967 Ross Campbell was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council, North Atlantic Treaty Organization until 1972. Ross Campbell guided Canada in the area of collective security. He played a conspicuous part in shaping NATO policies, defending NATO concepts and NATO's political and military solidarity. When the Canadian Government under Prime Minister Trudeau decided to reduce troop commitments in Europe, Ross Campbell played an essential role in expressing Allied concern in Ottawa and the Canadian viewpoint among the European Allies. In 1972 he was invited to be the first Canadian Honorary Member of the NATO Defense College Anciens Association. Ross Campbell was appointed Ambassador to Japan from 1972 to 1975 and concurrently accredited Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, from 1973 to 1974. Japan was a country of growing importance in Canada's external relations and the Ambassador was in a position to foster economic ties with Canada. Prior to taking up his duties in Japan he toured several Canadian cities meeting with provincial politicians, business managers and executives to investigate current and potential Canadian financial interests in Japan and the exchange of people and goods between the two countries. Mr. Campbell retired from the Foreign Service in 1975.
Mr. Campbell was subsequently appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited; he held this position from January 1976 to May 1979 with responsibility for major nuclear power projects in Korea, Japan and Indonesia. In 1979 he became President of Atomic Energy of Canada International and held this position until 1983. Concurrently, from 1980 to 1983 Mr. Campbell served as a nuclear consultant and then President of CANUS Technical Services Corporation. From 1983 to 2007 Mr. Campbell was a founding Senior Partner and a consultant for InterCon Consultants Limited, Ottawa, a company specializing in aerospace, defence and energy projects and representatives in Canada of Arianespace, the world's first commercial launch services provider. From 1984, he was the director of MBB Helicopter Limited/Eurocopter Canada Limited. As well, from 1991 to 1995 he was Director and Chairman of UXB Canada Limited, Ottawa. From 1992 he was the Director of Adopac Limited, Ottawa, a company specializing in plastics recycling.
Mr. Campbell was Director of the Canadian Nuclear Association and held memberships in the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, the Canada-Japan Business Cooperation Committee and the Canada-Japan Trade Council. He was a founding member of the Canada-Japan Businessmen's Association and was also a member of the Canada-Japan Society of Ottawa. He was a member of the Rideau Club, Ottawa and participated in the Rideau Club Round Table Sessions. He was also a member of the Naval Officers Association of Canada, Ottawa Branch and the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.
In May 2007, Ross Campbell was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada. He died August 15, 2007.
