John McNee (diplomat)
John A. McNee (born 1951 in London, Ontario) is a Canadian diplomat who served as Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations from 2006 to 2011. He earned a BA in History from York University in 1973 and an MA in History from Cambridge University in 1975, where he was named a Canada Scholar. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1978 and held postings in Madrid, London, and Tel Aviv, among other roles in Ottawa.
From 1993 to 1997, McNee was the Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Syria, and concurrently to Lebanon from 1993 to 1994. He later served as Director of the Personnel Division and as Director General for the Middle East, North Africa, and Gulf States Bureau.
From 2004 to 2006, he was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgium and, concurrently, to Luxembourg. In July 2006, he became Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, a position he held until 2011.
In June 2011, McNee became the first Secretary-General of the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, an Aga Khan initiative with the Government of Canada. He and his wife, Susan, have two children.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:19 (CET).