Leslie C. Green, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Alberta passed away on November 27, 2011 in Edmonton. He is survived by his wife Lilian and daughter Anne.
Professor Green taught courses at the Faculty of Law for close to three decades, starting in the 1960s through the 1990s. These included courses on International Law and Armed Conflict & Human Rights.
He was the author of numerous works on legal issues related to war, armed conflict, terrorism and crimes against humanity, all of which influenced the development of Canadian policy in these fields. Amongst his major published works were Essays on the Modern Law of War, adopted for use by numerous military academies, and The Contemporary Law of Armed Conflict, based on the Manual of Armed Conflict Law that he wrote for the Canadian Department of Defence.
He lived a full and interesting life filled with numerous achievements. Before coming to the University of Alberta in 1965, he served as the Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Dean of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore. His work at the University of Alberta was recognized with the J. Gordon Kaplin Award in 1982, an honorary LL.D. in 1994 and the rank of University Professor, and as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Apart from the University, he was a consultant to the Canadian and American governments and the JAG Office. He was in demand as a visiting speaker and lecturer around the world, being the first non-American appointed to the Stockton Chair of International Law at the United States Naval War College. For his life's work in International Law, he was awarded the John E. Read Medal by the Canadian Council on International Law.
Leslie Green speaking with Anne McLellan after being conferred an honorary LL.D.