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2009 ORT Montreal Benefit Gala Honouree |
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This year, ORT Montreal is very proud to honour one of Canada's most long-serving ambassadors, having represented our country in numerous countries around the world, of which France, the United States, Mexico and the Congo, throughout his 38-year career in public service. Raymond Chrétien is presently a partner and strategic advisor at Fasken Martineau.
Raymond Chrétien was born on May 20, 1942 in Shawinigan, Quebec. He attended university at the Séminaire de Joliette (B.A.) and Laval University (LL.L.). In 1966, he passed the Quebec bar examination. Later that year, he made a decision that shaped the course of his career and his life: He joined the Legal Affairs Bureau in the Department of External Affairs (now the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade). Over the next twelve years, he completed assignments in Ottawa with the Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board and the Canadian International Development Agency. Outside Canada, he served at Canada's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and the Embassies in Beirut and Paris.
In 1978, he was named Canada's Ambassador to Zaire with joint accreditation to Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo Republic. He returned to Ottawa in 1981 where he was Policy Director for Industry, Investments and Competition (81/82), Assistant Under Secretary, Manufacturing, Technology and Transportation (82/83) and Inspector General (83/85), respectively, in the Department of External Affairs.
In 1985, he was appointed Canada's Ambassador to Mexico. During his service there, he was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award the Mexican government has presented to a Canadian. Upon completion of his assignment in Mexico, he was named to the position of Associate Under Secretary for External Affairs, the second highest in the Department.
From 1991 to 1994, he served as Canada's Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg. In January 1994, he became Canada's 18th Ambassador to the United States. In October 1996, during his mandate in Washington, he was appointed as the Secretary General of the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region to undertake an assessment of the crisis in the Great Lakes Region and to make recommendations as to the United Nations' response. He presented his report and recommendations to the Security Council in December 1996.
In July 1998, Raymond Chrétien received a Certificate of Honorary Membership in the Bar of the United States Court of Appeal for the Armed Forces. In October 1999, Brock University awarded him a Degree of Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) in recognition of his contributions to Canadian public life and Canada's role in the international community.
From 2000 to 2003, he was appointed Canada's Ambassador to France. In 2001, he received a Doctorate of Law (honoris causa) from the Université Laval of Quebec City. In 2002, he received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the State University of New York, to highlight his outstanding support of the Canadian Studies activities at SUNY. In 2003, Raymond Chrétien was awarded the high distinction of "Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur" by France.
Raymond Chrétien is a member of the Trilateral Commission, chairman of the board of directors of the Centre d'études et de recherches internationales de l'Université de Montréal (CÉRIUM), president of the Comité des gouverneurs des corridors de commerce Québec-Canada-États-Unis of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ), member of the Board of Directors of the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) and member of the Board of Directors of Le conseil des relations internationales de Montréal (CORIM).
Mr. Chrétien is married to the former Kay Rousseau. They have a daughter, Caroline, and a son, Louis-François.
ORT Montreal is proud to be associated with Raymond Chrétien and very supportive of his interest in our organization and its programs.
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