Bio
Donald Bobiash has extensive experience in the Canadian Foreign Service and in international development. Most recently he served as assistant deputy minister for the Asia-Pacific region, managing a development budget of more than $220 million. During his career, he has been Ambassador to Colombia, Ambassador to Indonesia and High Commissioner to Ghana. His Asia service has included two assignments in Japan and one in Pakistan. He has also served as director general for Africa.
Donald holds a doctorate (D.Phil.) from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He also holds a master’s degree (M.Sc) from the London School of Economics and a bachelor of arts (political science) from the University of Saskatchewan. As a Rotary Foundation Graduate Scholar, he has studied at the École Nationale d’Administration in Dakar, Senegal, and studied at Laval University in Quebec City.
His Oxford doctoral thesis on development assistance was published under the title South-South Aid: How Developing Countries Help Each Other by Macmillan in 1992. Growing up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, he has a passionate interest in rural development.
He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013).