Foss Shanahan was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 diplomat and public servant. He started in the Customs Department in 1928, then in 1939 joined the Prime Minister’s Department, in the section that became the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is the New Zealand Government ministry responsible for promoting New Zealand's interests in trade and international relations....

.

He was Assistant Secretary of the War Cabinet 1940-45, Deputy Secretary of the External Affairs Department 1943-55, Secretary of Cabinet 1948-55, and Head of Defence Secretariat 1949-55. He set up the Cabinet Secretariat, and was known as "Foss the Boss."

He served as Commissioner then High Commissioner to Singapore (also to Malaya and Ambassador to Thailand) 1955-58, then as High Commissioner to Canada 1958-61 and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York 1958-62.

He was born in Alexandra, New Zealand

Alexandra, New Zealand

Alexandra is a town in the Central Otago district of the Otago region of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Clutha River , on State Highway 8, 188 km by road from Dunedin and 33 km south of Cromwell.At the time of the 2006 census, the permanent population was 4,827, an...

 and died (of a brain tumour) in Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

. He was educated at Christian Brothers College

Kavanagh College

Kavanagh College is a Catholic Secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. The school in its present form dates from 1989 but its origins as a secondary school go back to 1871....

, Dunedin, and Waitaki Boys' High School

Waitaki Boys' High School

Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. It currently has a school roll of just over 530....

, Oamaru. He joined the public service in 1928 and studied part-time at the University of Otago

University of Otago

The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...

 and Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...

, graduating from Victoria with a Master of Laws (LLM) in 1936.

He married Joan Mason in 1938; they had 4 sons and 1 daughter.