David Malone was President of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) from 2008 until 2013. His tenure at IDRC was but a segment in the arc of a long and meaningful career in international affairs. But it was still a significant one, as this was a period of rapid change in Canada and its world, not all of it friendly to the traditional Pearsonian view of Canada’s global role and stature. David’s tenure at IDRC was thus marked by his formidable intellectual capabilities tempered by the constant eye devoted to safeguarding the institution and, more importantly, its ethos.
David took the words International, Development, and Research in the title seriously. He completed his landmark study of Indian foreign policy, started when he was Canada’s High Commissioner to India, Does the Elephant Dance, in 2010. He initiated and completed a co-edited collection of essays on international development theory and practice during his tenure at IDRC. Although not the primary intent, the book became a subtle vehicle to showcase the IDRC constellation. Bruce Currie-Alder and I (along with Cornell University’s Ravi Kanbur) were co-editors, and several IDRC staff and partners were authors. The tome was on Oxford University Press’s “most recommended” list for years, and its papers are cited to this day.
During his tenure, David continued being a prolific public intellectual, presenting his writing and ideas to publications in Canada and abroad. He was generous with his time, especially with smart up-and-coming professionals. And he somehow managed to continue to teach his course on UN law at New York University!
Despite his immersion in the field, David abhorred its parochial nature, (correctly) chiding us for over-using acronyms and insider lingo like it was normal to communicate in this manner. I am still in awe of the flawless construction of his sentences, mostly delivered extemporaneously, at staff meetings and at the numerous public events he hosted at our wonderful spaces at Constitution Square. I very much doubt his writing could have been improved by running it through a ChatGPT edit.
Given his workaholic career, it is a double tragedy that he did not enjoy retirement for long. But he went miles before he chose to sleep.
Rohinton Medhora
VP Programs, 2002–2012
Bulletin 79
January 2026