Louise Arbour, a former Supreme Court of Canada judge, has been selected as Canada’s next Governor General.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Arbour would be the country’s 31st Governor General on Tuesday (May 5). She is the first Governor General appointed by King Charles III.
The announcement from Carney’s office says Arbour is a world-renowned legal scholar, judge, and leader in human rights and justice. She is a Companion of the Order of Canada, which is Canada’s highest civilian honour, and a Grande officière de l’Ordre national du Québec.
Arbour also holds 42 honorary doctorates from universities around the world.
“With a career of service spanning more than five decades, she has held nearly every office a Canadian jurist can hold, and several that no Canadian had held before.”
Arbour was appointed as judge to the Supreme Court of of Ontario, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Then in 1996, she was appointed as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda by the United Nations. Through that, Arbour led efforts that resulted in the first conviction for genocide since the Genocide Convention and the first indictment for war crimes of a sitting head of state.
She was appointed high commissioner for human rights by the United Nations secretary-general in 2004 and later served as United Nations special representative for international migration from 2017 to 2018.
Arbour has more recently delivered the Independent External Comprehensive Review on misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, “which became a catalyst for unprecedented culture change and reform,” the release notes.
Mary Simon has held the role of Governor General since 2021.
Carney thanked Simon for her time as Governor General, and for her lifetime of advocacy for Inuit rights, Indigenous self-determination and the preservation of Indigenous language, culture, and identity.
“Her legacy will endure not only in her service, but in the way she served – with an unshakable belief in Canada.
The role of the Governor General is to act on behalf of the Crown, Canada’s head of state. The Governor General’s responsibilities include carrying out constitutional duties, serving as commander-in-chief, representing Canada at home and abroad, encouraging excellence, and bringing Canadians together.