Biography of the Canadian High Commissioner
David Collins
David Collins was appointed Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda; Ambassador to Burundi, Eritrea and Somalia; and Permanent Representative to the UN Organisations based in Nairobi, in August 2010.
This is his fourth tour as a head of mission having served in Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova from 1998-2000; Pakistan from 2005-2008; and Malaysia from 2008-2010. He has served extensively overseas in other locations including the USA, Poland, Turkey, NATO (2), and Korea. During his second tour at NATO Headquarters he served as Director Defence Partnership & Cooperation. At home, he has served twice in the Europe Branch, as Senior Departmental Assistant to the International Trade Minister, Director General International and Industry Programs at the Department of National Defence, and Inspector General of the Foreign Service. He served for many years as a reserve naval officer in Canada, the USA, the UK and NATO.
Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Mr Collins holds BA, BComm and MSc degrees in History and Business Administration from Queen's, Concordia and Durham (UK) universities. He is a graduate of the Senior Executive Development Programme at the Banff School of Advanced Management and qualified as a Chartered Secretary (ACIS).
He is joined in Nairobi by his wife Jacquie, a paediatric occupational therapist. Their adult son Nicholas is a serving army officer in Canada.
