August 17, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today announced the following diplomatic appointments:
David Angell becomes High Commissioner to the Republic of Kenya and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements and to the United Nations Environment Programme, in Nairobi.
Louis de Lorimier becomes Ambassador to the Republic of Mali.
Wendy Drukier becomes Ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica, with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Honduras and the Republic of Nicaragua.
Patricia Fuller becomes Ambassador to the Republic of Chile.
Greg Giokas becomes High Commissioner to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
André François Giroux becomes Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark.
Jamshed Merchant becomes Consul General in Minneapolis (United States of America).
Pamela O’Donnell becomes Ambassador to the Republic of Ecuador.
Claire Poulin becomes Ambassador to the Eastern Republic of Uruguay.
Denis Robert becomes Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium.
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Biographical notes on the appointees follow.
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David Angell (BA [Political Science], Yale University, 1986; MA [International Relations], University of Toronto, 1987; MPhil [International Relations], University of Cambridge [Commonwealth Scholar], 1988) joined External Affairs and International Trade Canada in 1989 and served abroad in Washington, D.C. (1991 to 1993); in Northern Ireland as adviser to Gen. John de Chastelain in the peace process (1995 to 1996); at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York (1996 to 2001), including as alternate representative on the UN Security Council (1999 to 2000); and as high commissioner in Nigeria and ambassador to the Economic Community of West African States (2004 to 2007). In Ottawa, he served as director general of the Africa Bureau (2007 to 2008), the International Organizations Bureau (2008 to 2009) and, since 2009, the integrated International Organizations, Human Rights and Democracy Bureau. He served as the G-8 deputy Africa personal representative from 2001 to 2004 and, from 2007 to 2012, as the G-8 Africa personal representative and, as such, was closely involved in the organization of the 2002 and 2010 G-8 summits in Canada. He is married to Kate, and they have two children, Alexandra and Jonathan. Mr. Angell succeeds David Collins.
Louis de Lorimier (BA [Political Science], Université de Montréal, 1979) worked as a journalist for Le Journal de Montréal, programs director for the Canadian University Service Overseas and desk editor for La Presse before joining the Department of External Affairs in 1982. He served abroad as second secretary and vice-consul in Côte d’Ivoire (1983 to 1985), counsellor and consul for La Francophonie at the Embassy of Canada to France (1989 to 1993), counsellor and consul for the political section at the Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Korea (1996 to 1998) and as counsellor for communications and public affairs at the Embassy of Canada to France (1998 to 2002). At Headquarters, he served as departmental assistant to the minister of external affairs (1985 to 1988), assignments officer (1988 to 1989) and director of the Francophonie Division (1993 to 1996 and 2003 to 2005). From 2005 to 2008, he was Canada’s ambassador to Lebanon. Most recently, since 2008, Mr. de Lorimier served as Canada’s ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and Canada’s representative to the Council of Europe. He has three children. Mr. de Lorimier succeeds Virginie Saint-Louis.
Wendy Drukier (BA Honours [Politics, Economics], Queen’s University, 1990; MA, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, 1994) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1997 and served as desk officer for the Andean region before accepting an assignment in Buenos Aires in 1999. She also served abroad as counsellor in Bogotá from 2007 to 2009. At Headquarters, Ms. Drukier worked with the Task Force on Security Abroad and as deputy director in the United Nations and Commonwealth Affairs Division. Most recently, since 2010, she served as director of the Hemispheric Affairs Division and counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. Ms. Drukier succeeds Cameron MacKay.
Patricia Fuller (BA Honours, [Economics and Political Studies], Queen’s University, 1986; MSc with distinction [Economics], London School of Economics, 1989) joined the foreign service in 1989. From 1991 to 1993, she served as second secretary at the Embassy of Canada to Guatemala. Ms. Fuller returned to Ottawa to work in the International Economic Relations Division, and, in 1995, she served as head of the Trade Policy and Economic Section of the Embassy of Canada to Mexico. In 1997, she became deputy director of the Trade Remedies Division. She was seconded in 2000 to the Economic and Regional Development Policy Secretariat of the Privy Council Office, and she returned to the department in 2003 as director of the Softwood Lumber Division. In 2004, Ms. Fuller was appointed Canada’s ambassador to Uruguay. She returned to Headquarters in 2007 to become chief economist. Most recently, since 2010, Ms. Fuller served as director general of strategic planning and reporting. She is married to George Dix, and they have two children. Ms. Fuller succeeds Sarah Fountain Smith.
Greg Giokas (BA [Linguistics], Laval University, 1981; MA, [International Affairs], Carleton University, 1984) has been with the federal government for 26 years. His broad range of experience includes work at the Canadian International Development Agency, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. During his career, Mr. Giokas has led the management of trade and policy issues related to the Soviet Union, Europe, Africa and Asia. His experience includes serving as counsellor in the Embassy of Canada to Japan (1999 to 2003) and as director of South Asia relations at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (2008 to 2011). Most recently, he served as acting director general of the South, South-East Asia and Oceania Bureau. He is married and has one son. Mr. Giokas succeeds Ross Hynes.
André François Giroux (LLB [Civil Law], Université de Montréal, 1992; LLM [International Business Law], McGill University, 1994; LLM [European Community Law], College of Europe, 1995; MBA, Université de Montréal, 2001) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1995 as a foreign service officer. In 1996, he became second secretary at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, in New York, and returned to Headquarters in 1999 to work as a lawyer in the Trade Law Bureau. In 2001, Mr. Giroux joined the International Economic Relations and Summits Division as a political officer, and later he became deputy director of the same division. From 2004 to 2008, he was counsellor at the Embassy of Canada to France. From 2008 to 2010, he was director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Division. Most recently, Mr. Giroux served as director of the Office of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is married to Nathalie Byk, and they have three daughters. Mr. Giroux succeeds Peter Lundy.
Jamshed Merchant (BSc [Environmental Science], University of East Anglia, 1977; MSc [Pedology and Soil Survey] University of Reading, 1978) started his career as a faculty lecturer in Geography at McGill University in 1979. In 1983, he joined the Alberta government’s ministry of the environment as a soil scientist. From 1985 to 2001, Mr. Merchant worked with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in several positions, notably as a soil conservationist, executive assistant to the deputy minister and acting director general for strategic business planning. From 2001 to 2003, he was director general of the Government On-Line Division with the Department of Canadian Heritage. Between 2003 and 2007, Mr. Merchant worked with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, initially as executive director in the Environment, Transport and Infrastructure Sector and then as assistant secretary of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Grants and Contributions, Aboriginal Affairs and Climate Change programs. He returned to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2007 as executive director of the National Land and Water Information Service and was appointed assistant deputy minister of the Agri-Environment Services Branch in 2008. He is married to Pheroza, and they have three children, Sohrab, Jehangir and Shireen. Mr. Merchant succeeds Martin Loken.
Pamela O’Donnell (BA Honours [International Relations], York University, 1991) joined External Affairs and International Trade Canada in 1993. She served abroad in Malaysia from 1996 to 1999, and in Greece as counsellor (political and public affairs) from 2002 to 2006. In Ottawa, Ms. O’Donnell served as deputy head of Canada’s Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation Office (1999 to 2002) and director of the Sustainable Development Division (2006 to 2009), in addition to undertaking several trade commissioner assignments, including a secondment to Industry Canada for one year. Most recently, since 2009, she served as director of the Deployment and Coordination Division within the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force. Ms. O’Donnell succeeds Andrew Shisko.
Claire Poulin (BA [French Studies] Université de Montréal, 1979; MA [Modern Literature] Université de Provence, 1980; Diplôme d’études approfondies [French literature and civilization], Université de Provence, 1984) joined the Government of Canada in 1989, working at the Canadian International Development Agency as writer and editor of youth editions for the magazines Somewhere Today, Under the Same Sun and Country Profiles. In 1991, she joined External Affairs and International Trade Canada as a desk officer, first in the Economic Relations with Developing Countries Division and then in the Caribbean and Central America Division, before transferring to the Maghreb and Arabian Peninsula Bureau as executive assistant to the director general. From 1995 to 1998, she served as desk officer in the Western Europe Division. In 1998, she was the coordinator for the Federal of the Parliamentary Conference of the Americas. From 2001 to 2005, she was director general of International and Interparliamentary Affairs, chief of protocol and clerk of the Joint Interparliamentary Council at the Parliament of Canada. She has served overseas as third secretary (political) and vice-consul at the Embassy of Canada to Argentina (1993 to 1995), as first secretary (political) at the Embassy of Canada to France (1998 to 2001), and as ambassador to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (2005 to 2008) and to El Salvador (2008 to 2010). Most recently, since 2010, she served as director of the International Education and Youth Division at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Ms. Poulin succeeds Francis Trudel.
Denis Robert (BA [Political Science], Laval University, 1983; MSc [Political Science], Université de Montréal, 1987) joined the Department of External Affairs in 1989 after working as a research associate at the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University, Kingston. Mr. Robert served as second secretary (commercial-NAFTA) in Mexico City from 1989 to 1993 and worked with the European Union Division from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, Mr. Robert was seconded to the École nationale d’administration [national school of administration] in Paris. In 1998, he participated in the diplomatic exchange program between the French and Canadian ministries of foreign affairs. Mr. Robert served as counsellor (commercial) in Paris from 1998 to 2001, as head of the political section at the Mission of Canada to the European Union in Brussels from 2004 to 2007, and as head of the political section at the Embassy of Canada to Haiti from 2007 to 2008. In Ottawa, he has served as deputy director of the Western Europe Division and, since 2008, director of the Haiti Task Force. Mr. Robert succeeds Louis de Lorimier.
