New Permanent Representative of Canada Pays Courtesy Call on Secretary-General

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)

The new Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, Robert Rae, paid a courtesy call on UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.  He earlier presented his credentials to the Secretariat on 31 August.  (See Press Release BIO/5318.)

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Rae was Canada’s special envoy on humanitarian and refugee issues, continuing work begun in 2017 as his country’s Special Envoy to Myanmar.

A former Premier of Ontario and former interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mr. Rae was elected 11 times to federal and provincial parliaments between 1978 and 2013.  He stepped down as a Member of Parliament in 2013 to return to legal practice, and in particular, to work with indigenous communities, with a parallel focus on education, governance and human rights.

In addition, Mr. Rae taught at the University of Toronto School of Public Policy and Governance, as well as at Massey College and Victoria University.  He also was a legal mediator and arbitrator at ADR Chambers and led the restructuring of the Canadian Red Cross, among other organizations.

A companion of the Order of Canada, Mr. Rae holds a bachelor’s degree with honours in modern history from the University of Toronto and a Master of Philosophy degree from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.  He also graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

He is married and has three children.