{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["canada-9a206f482c98f5"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/norman-robertson-660aa98ee2/","countrySlug":"canada","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/norman-robertson-660aa98ee2/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Norman Robertson studied at the University of British Columbia and Oxford before joining External Affairs in 1929. As under-secretary from 1941, he managed the department’s wartime expansion and helped strengthen Canada’s role among the Allies. He later became the first career civil servant appointed high commissioner in London.","Robertson argued that Atlantic cooperation should extend beyond defence. He helped secure Article 2 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which called for economic cooperation and the reduction of conflicting economic policies. His concern was that competition for postwar markets could weaken the alliance. Following his London service, he represented Canada in Washington in 1957–1958."],"id":"canada:norman robertson","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-660aa98ee27a9cc436b6.html","name":"Norman Robertson","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["ambcanada-bio"],["ambcanada-bio","difp-note"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-660aa98ee27a9cc436b6.html","relatedEvents":[{"basis":"tenure-overlap","country":"Canada","date":"12 May 1958","description":"Canada and the United States formalise NORAD, combining operational control of their continental air defences while retaining national command of their armed forces.","id":"canada-norad-1958","note":"Named people and the recorded mission tenure provide the connection; overlap does not establish personal participation.","sourceUrls":["https://www.treaty-accord.gc.ca/text-texte.aspx?id=101015"],"title":"One command for continental air defence","url":"Canada.html#history-canada-norad-1958"}],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"e4b546e946907708","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"ambcanada-bio","locator":"Biography","publisher":"Canadian Ambassadors Alumni Association","title":"Norman Robertson","type":"institutional-history","url":"https://ambcanada.ca/canadian-diplomacy/ambassadors/norman-robertson/"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1946-09-14","id":"difp-note","locator":"Volume 8, document 4292, editorial note 1","publisher":"Royal Irish Academy, Documents on Irish Foreign Policy","title":"Extracts from a confidential report from John J. Hearne to Frederick H. Boland","type":"primary-record","url":"https://www.difp.ie/volume-8/1946/appointment-of-a-new-canadian-high-commissioner-to-dublin-mackenzie-kings-health/4292/"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-195547f933410e0d2d56","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Norman Robertson — mission record (1957–1958)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://w05.international.gc.ca/CHOMA-CDMCE/Posting/View/2365"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 21 October 2026","id":"mission-3c9e89462afdcdc1960d","locator":"Tenure chronology; pre-1989 appointments belong to earlier chancery buildings.","publisher":"","title":"Canadian ambassadors to the United States: roster","type":"Mission record","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_Canada_to_the_United_States"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-6540b582b9fa72511cc1","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Norman Robertson — mission record (1957–1958)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/05/statement-from-the-minister-of-national-defence-on-the-65th-anniversary-of-the-creation-of-norad0.html"}],"topics":["NATO","economic cooperation","wartime diplomacy"]},"schemaVersion":1}