Robert Fowler

Robert Fowler

Distinguished Canadian Diplomat & Former al Queda Hostage

In July, 2008, The Secretary General of the United Nations appointed Canadian Diplomat Robert Fowler to be the Special Envoy to Niger. Fowler made international headlines when he was discovered missing on December 14th, 2008. While acquitting his UN mission, Fowler and his colleague, Louis Guay, were captured by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and held hostage in the Sahara Desert for 130 days. Speaking about his extraordinary experience of being held captive, Fowler grants insight to his thoughts process, and how he managed to remain alive throughout the ordeal. Fowler was named to The Order of Canada in January, 2011.


Contact Speakers' Spotlight

On July 21, 2008, The Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, appointed Canadian Diplomat Robert Fowler to be his Special Envoy to Niger, with the rank of Under-Secretary-General in the Secretariat of the UN. Fowler made international headlines when he was discovered missing on December 14th, 2008. While acquitting his UN mission, Mr. Fowler and his colleague, Louis Guay, were captured by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and held hostage in the Sahara Desert for 130 days.

Fowler’s capture and release from captivity drew the attention of millions from around the world, and his terrifying recount of the ordeal grants audiences a unique look into sensitive global politics.

During his distinguished 38-year Public Service career, Fowler was the Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Ministers Trudeau, Turner and Mulroney, counselling on a full range of foreign, defence and development policy issues. He was also the Deputy Minister of National Defence and also Canada's longest serving Ambassador and Permanent Representative, a posting that included most of Canada's sixth term as a member of the United Nations Security Council. Fowler was Ambassador to Italy and the three Rome-Based UN Food Agencies, Sherpa for the Kananaskis G8 Summit (for which he chaired the creation of the Africa Action Plan).

Prime Minister Chrétien appointed Ambassador Fowler to be his Personal Representative for Africa; a position created at the G8 Summit in Genoa in July 2001. As both Chair of the G8 ‘Sherpas’ and Chair of a separate group of G8 Personal Representatives for Africa (APRs), Ambassador Fowler led the creation of the G8 response to Africa’s innovative New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Fowler retired from the Federal Public Service in the fall of 2006, and is now a Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He speaks about his extraordinary experiences of being held captive, sharing insight to his thoughts, habits, and captors. Fowler’s tale of survival is riveting and it offers his audience a rare inside perspective into global conflict.

  • 7. Why Canada Deserves to Lose the Forthcoming Election to the Security Council

  • 6. Canada at the United Nations

  • 5. Security in the Sahel Region of Africa

  • 4. Canada's Engagement with Africa

  • 3. We Cannot Win in Afghanistan

  • 2. Canadian Foreign Policy

  • 1. Sleeping with Al Qaeda in the Sahara

  • seasoninhell
    November 2011

    A Season in Hell: My 130 Days in the Sahara with Al Qaeda

    For decades, Robert R. Fowler was a dominant force in Canadian foreign affairs. In one heart-stopping minute, all of that changed. On December 14, 2008, Fowler, acting as the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Niger, was kidnapped by Al Qaeda, becoming the highest ranked UN official ever held captive. Along with his colleague Louis Guay, Fowler lived, slept and ate with his captors for nearly five months, gaining rare first-hand insight into the motivations of the world's most feared terror group. Fowler's capture, release and subsequent appearances have helped shed new light on foreign policy and security issues as we enter the second decade of the "War on Terror." A Season in Hell is Fowler's ompelling story of his captivity, told in his own words, but it's also a startlingly frank discussion about the state of a world redefined by clashing civilizations.