Career
In 1984, he was appointed Canada"s Ambassador for Disarmament, a position he held until 1989. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada on September 17, 1998, where he served until June 13, 2004. Currently he resides in Edmonton, Alberta.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Douglas Roche has long been concerned with the issue of nuclear disarmament.
He was elected Chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Committee, the main United Nations body dealing with political and security issues, at the 43rd General Assembly in 1988. He is also the author of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to thirteen more, including Creative Dissent: A Politician"s Struggle for Peace (Novalis, 2008).
He is the founding Chairman of the Middle Powers Initiative, co-sponsored by eight international non-governmental organizations specializing in nuclear disarmament. He now serves as Senior Advisor to the current Chairman, Ambassador Henrik Salander of Sweden.
In 1995, Pope John Paul II presented him with the Papal Medal for his service as Special Adviser on disarmament and security matters.
Roche has served as President of the United Nations Association in Canada and was elected in 1985 as Honorary President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations. He was the founding President of Parliamentarians for Global Action, an international network of 1,300 parliamentarians in 99 countries, and wrote The Case for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly in 2002. He was also founding editor of the Western Catholic Reporter (1965-1972).
And International Chairman (1990-1996) of Global Education Associates.