David Collins

NAC-VI Treasurer

Email: treasurervina@gmail.com
Phone: 778 265 0872

David Collins was born into a naval family who grew up in Ottawa and Halifax. He was commissioned in the RCN through the ROUTP at Queen’s University and HMCS Cataraqui. He spent sixteen years in the active Naval Reserve qualifying both as a Supply Officer and Naval Control of Shipping Officer. He had two Reserve officer exchanges: one year with the Royal Naval Reserve in HMS Calliope and three years with the United States Naval Reserve with an augmentation unit of NSD Subic Bay. He served for three years as the naval member of the Canadian delegation to the Inter-Allied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR), a Nato body. One naval highlight was to serve in HMCS Huron during her deployment to the Silver Jubilee Naval Review at Spithead in 1977. Professionally David spent over thirty-six years with the Diplomatic Service at home and abroad. He had several political-military appointments including two tours at Nato HQ in Brussels and, on secondment, as a director general in National Defence Headquarters. He also served as Inspector General of the Departments of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Overseas he held four ambassadorial assignments including: Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria; Pakistan; Malaysia and Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and South Sudan, In the summer of 2013 he served as the interim ambassador at our embassy in Kabul. David holds BA, BComm and MSc degrees and qualified as a Chartered Secretary (ACIS). He is an alumni fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a former director and member of the advisory council of the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, and is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of the Canadian Ditchley Foundation.