View source for John de Chastelain

{{Short description|Canadian diplomat and soldier}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[General (Canada)|General]]
| name                = John de Chastelain
| honorific-suffix    ={{post-nominals|country=CAN| CC | CMM | CD | CH | size=100%}}
| image               =
| imagesize           =
| office              = Chairman of the [[Independent International Commission on Decommissioning]]
| term_start          = 1997
| term_end            = 2011
| predecessor         =
| successor           =
| office2             = [[#External links|More...]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|df=y|1937|07|30}}
| birth_place         = [[Bucharest]], Kingdom of Romania
| spouse              = Mary Ann (''née'' Laverty)
| children            = 2
| alma_mater          = {{ubl|[[Royal Military College of Canada]]|[[Mount Royal University]]}}
| allegiance          = Canada
| branch              =  [[Land Force Command]]
| serviceyears        = 1956–1995
| rank                = [[General officer|General]]
| unit                = {{ubl|[[Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry]]|[[The Calgary Highlanders]]}}
| commands            ={{indented plainlist|
* 2nd Battalion, [[Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry|PPCLI]]
* [[CFB Montreal]]
* [[Royal Military College of Canada|Royal Military College]]
* [[4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group]]
* [[Canadian Armed Forces]]
}}
| battles             ={{ubl|[[October Crisis]]|[[Oka Crisis]]}}
| awards= {{indented plainlist|
* [[Order of the Companions of Honour]] (Member)
* [[Order of Canada]] (Companion)
* [[Legion of Merit]] (Commander)
* [[Order of Military Merit (Canada)|Order of Military Merit (Commander)]]
* [[Venerable Order of Saint John|Order of St. John (Commander)]]
* [[Canadian Forces' Decoration]]
}}
}}
'''Alfred John Gardyne Drummond de Chastelain''' {{postnominals|country=CAN|CC|CMM|CD|CH}} (born 30 July 1937) is a Canadian retired army officer and diplomat.

De Chastelain was born in Romania to Scottish and American parents and was educated in England and Scotland before his family emigrated to Canada in 1954. There, de Chastelain became a Militia private and enrolled in the [[Royal Military College of Canada]], going on to pursue a career in the [[Canadian Army]].  He was commissioned into [[Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry]] and rose eventually to be twice [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]], with a break of a year during which he served as [[List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States|Canada's ambassador to the United States]]. In 1995, de Chastelain became active in the [[Northern Ireland peace process]] and eventually focused on the disarmament of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland.

==Early life and education==
De Chastelain was born in 1937 in [[Bucharest]], Romania, to [[Alfred Gardyne de Chastelain]], a Scottish oil engineer then working in Bucharest for [[Anglo-Iranian Oil Company|British Petroleum]], (later an agent of SOE) and [[Marion Elizabeth (Walsh) de Chastelain|Marion Elizabeth de Chastelain]], an American. He was educated in England and later at [[Fettes College]], Edinburgh. The de Chastelain family emigrated to Canada in 1954, and a year later, after finishing his education at Fettes College, De Chastelain joined his family and attended Mount Royal College (now [[Mount Royal University]]) in [[Calgary]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mtroyal.ca/AboutMountRoyal/MediaRoom/Newsroom/john-de-chastelain-peace.htm|title=Retired General John de Chastelain becomes namesake of Mount Royal's Peace Studies Initiative|access-date=26 April 2021|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426055215/https://www.mtroyal.ca/AboutMountRoyal/MediaRoom/Newsroom/john-de-chastelain-peace.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> He married Mary Ann Laverty.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/07/05/imported-anecdotes/bbf3bc01-c658-45a8-82e8-2be9c9554a70/|title=Imported anecdotes|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=5 July 1993|access-date=4 July 2019|archive-date=4 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704110542/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/07/05/imported-anecdotes/bbf3bc01-c658-45a8-82e8-2be9c9554a70/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Military==
[[File:Cdsdechastelain.jpg|thumb|right|220px|On parade with The [[Calgary Highlanders]] on 30 June 1990; General de Chastelain (top left)]]
De Chastelain started his military career as a Militia private in the [[Calgary Highlanders]] in which he served from January to September 1956.<ref name=roads>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalroads.ca/news-events/convocation/awards/john-de-chastelain|title=John de Chastelain|publisher=Royal Roads University|access-date=4 July 2019|archive-date=4 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704103255/http://www.royalroads.ca/news-events/convocation/awards/john-de-chastelain|url-status=live}}</ref> He was enrolled in the [[Royal Military College of Canada]] in September 1956 and graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a commission in [[Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry]] (PPCLI), two years before he became a [[naturalization|naturalized]] Canadian. Performing regimental duty in Canada, Germany, and Cyprus, de Chastelain subsequently attended the [[British Army]] [[Staff College, Camberley|staff college in Camberley]] in 1966 and was commanding officer of the Second Battalion PPCLI from 1970 to 1972.<ref name=ppcli>{{cite web|url=https://ppcli.com/general-a-j-g-d-de-chastelain-cc-cmm-cd-ch/|title=General A.J.G.D. de Chastelain, CC, CMM, CD, CH|publisher=Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry|access-date=4 July 2019|archive-date=4 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704104656/https://ppcli.com/general-a-j-g-d-de-chastelain-cc-cmm-cd-ch/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As a colonel, he commanded [[CFB Montreal]] for a two-year period ending with the [[1976 Summer Olympics]] in [[Montreal|that city]]. He was also Deputy Chief of Staff of the United Nations Force in Cyprus ([[UNFICYP]]) and Commander of the Canadian contingent there. As a brigadier-general, he successively became Commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada in 1977,<ref name=roads/> Commander of [[4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group]] in [[Lahr]], Germany in 1980 and Director General Land Doctrine and Operations at [[Department of National Defence Headquarters (Canada)|National Defence Headquarters]] in Ottawa, Ontario in 1982.<ref name=ppcli/>

As a major-general, de Chastelain was Deputy Commander of the [[Canadian Army]] (then called Mobile Command) and Commander of the Mobile Command Division, which was exercised as such in 1985 on Exercise RV '85. As a lieutenant-general, he became Assistant Deputy Minister for Personnel in 1986<ref name=roads/> and then [[Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff]] in 1988.<ref name=roads/> In 1989, he was promoted to the rank of general and appointed [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]].<ref name=roads/>

In 1993, he transferred to the Reserves and was appointed [[Canadian Ambassador to the United States|Ambassador to the United States]] by [[Brian Mulroney]].<ref name=roads/> In 1994, shortly after the election of [[Jean Chrétien]], he was recalled to Regular Force duty and re-appointed Chief of the Defence Staff, replacing [[John Rogers Anderson|Admiral Anderson]] and vacating the office of Ambassador for [[Raymond Chrétien]]. de Chastelain served as Chief of Defence Staff until his retirement in December 1995.<ref name=roads/>

==Civilian==
From November 1995, de Chastelain was involved in the [[Northern Ireland peace process]] and from 1997 to 2011 he was Chairman of the [[Independent International Commission on Decommissioning]], which was responsible for ensuring the [[Decommissioning in Northern Ireland|decommissioning of arms by paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland]]. He has made an impact on the way that Britain has viewed the IRA since the decommissioning has begun. As part of the [[Good Friday Agreement]] an independent neutral adjudicator was selected to look over the disarmament of Republican and Loyalist paramilitary weapons in Northern Ireland.<ref name=roads/>

==Honours==
[[File:Wall of Honour, Royal Military College of Canada.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Wall of Honour, Royal Military College of Canada]]
In 1985, de Chastelain was appointed Commander of the [[Order of Military Merit (Canada)|Order of Military Merit]] and in 1991, Commander of the [[Venerable Order of Saint John|Order of St John]]; in 1993, he received the Commendation Medal of Merit and Honour of Greece, and was appointed Officer of the [[Order of Canada]]; in 1995,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=3135 |title=A.J.G.D. de Chastelain, O.C., C.M.M., C.D., C.H. |access-date=29 April 2010 |archive-date=27 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327160645/http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=3135 |url-status=live }}</ref> he was appointed Commander of the [[Legion of Merit]] (U.S.A.); in 1999, he was made a [[Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]]; and in 2014, he was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15694&lan=eng|title=Order of Canada Appointments|date=30 June 2014|access-date=1 July 2014|archive-date=25 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725183839/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15694&lan=eng|url-status=live}}</ref> Archie Cairns composed a jig for bagpipes in his honour in 1992.<ref>Archie Cairns – Bk1 Pipe Music 'General John de Chastelain (1992)' Jig 1995</ref>

He has an honorary Doctor of Military Science degree from the [[Royal Military College of Canada]], an honorary [[Doctor of Laws]] ([[Conflict Resolution]]) degree from [[Royal Roads University]] in British Columbia, an honorary [[Doctor of Education]] degree from [[Nipissing University]], an honorary [[Doctor of Laws]] degree from [[Carleton University]], an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from [[Queen's University, Kingston]], an honorary [[Doctor of Civil Law]] degree from [[Saint Mary's University (Halifax)|Saint Mary's University]], an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from [[Brock University]], an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from [[Concordia University]], an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from [[Mount Allison University]] and a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the [[University of Edinburgh]], and an honorary [[Doctor of Laws]] degree from [[Mount Royal University]]. He is an Honorary Fellow of [[Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford|Lady Margaret Hall]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]]. De Chastelain was a recipient of the [[Vimy Award]] in 1992.<ref>[http://www.rmcclub.ca/everitaswp/?p=1430#more-1430 e-Veritas » Blog Archive » Misc<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207122811/http://www.rmcclub.ca/everitaswp/?p=1430 |date=7 December 2008 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{OCC|3135}}
* [https://www.theguardian.com/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,2763,1578667,00.html IRA arms decommissioned]

{{s-start}}
{{s-aca}}
{{succession box|title=[[List of Royal Military College of Canada people|Commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada]]|
                 before=[[William W. Turner]]|
                 after=John A. Stewart|
                 years=1977–1980}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box|title=[[Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Vice Chief of the Defence Staff]]|before=[[Jack Vance (general)|J.E. Vance]]|after=[[Charles Thomas (Canadian admiral)|C.M.W. Thomas]]|years=1988–1989}}
|-
{{succession box|title=[[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]]|
                 before=[[Paul David Manson|P.D. Manson]]|
                 after=[[John Rogers Anderson|J.R. Anderson]]|
                 years=1989–1993}}
{{succession box|title=[[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]]|
                 before=[[John Rogers Anderson|J.R. Anderson]]|
                 after=[[Jean Boyle|J.E.J. Boyle]]|
                 years=1994–1995}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box|title=[[List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States|Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary<br>and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America]]|
                 before=[[Derek Burney]]|
                 after=[[Raymond Chrétien]]|
                 years=1993–1994}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=Chairman of the [[Independent International Commission on Decommissioning]]|
                 before=new position|
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                 years=1997–2011}}
{{s-end}}

{{Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)}}
{{CA-Ambassadors to the United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chastelain, John}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada)]]
[[Category:Vice chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada)]]
[[Category:Canadian Presbyterians]]
[[Category:Canadian generals]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Canada to the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:British emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Canadian people of American descent]]
[[Category:Canadian Army officers]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Royal Military College of Canada alumni]]
[[Category:People educated at Fettes College]]
[[Category:Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford]]
[[Category:Northern Ireland peace process]]
[[Category:Commandants of the Royal Military College of Canada]]
[[Category:Mount Royal University alumni]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada)]]
[[Category:Canadian military musicians]]
[[Category:Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry officers]]
[[Category:Calgary Highlanders]]
[[Category:Calgary Highlanders soldiers]]