Marie Gervais-Vidricaire

Marie Gervais-Vidricaire
Ambassador of Canada to Germany
In office
2013–2017
Prime Minister
Preceded byPeter Boehm
Succeeded byStéphane Dion
Ambassador of Canada to Austria
In office
2005–2009
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byIngrid Marianne Hall
Succeeded byJohn Barrett
Personal details
Born
Marie Gervais-Vidricaire

(1955-08-25) August 25, 1955 (age 69)
Montmagny, Quebec, Canada
Education
ProfessionDiplomat

Marie Gervais-Vidricaire (born August 25, 1955[citation needed]) is a Canadian diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Canada to Germany from September 2013 to May 2017. Before that she served as the Ambassador of Canada to Austria from 2005 to 2009.[1]

Life and career

She was educated at Laval University in Quebec, and also holds a Diploma of International Relations Studies from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris and a Diplôme d’études approfondies from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in France.[citation needed] She speaks French, English, Spanish, German, and Italian.

In a broad-ranging diplomatic career, from 1998 to 2001 she specialized in human rights and human security issues and served as Deputy Permanent Representative at the Canadian Mission to the United Nations in Geneva and as Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights. She was the spokesman for the Western Group at the World Conference on Racism in Durban in 2001.

In 2002, she was Director General responsible for global issues in the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa and head of the Canadian delegation to the 58th session of the Commission on Human Rights. Gervais-Vidricaire was appointed to the Board of Directors of Rights and Democracy in 2003.

From 2005 to 2009, she was Canada's ambassador to Austria and the Permanent Representative of Canada to the International Organisations at Vienna. Thereafter, she worked in a NATO expert group to develop a new strategic concept.[2] From 2011 to 2013, she was chairman of the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (START).

On August 23, 2013, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced the appointment of Gervais-Vidricaire as the Ambassador to Germany.[3] It was confirmed in a speech on January 31, 2017, that her successor as Ambassador to Germany will be former Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Dion.[4]

References

  1. ^ Canada, Global Affairs (June 5, 2014). "Gervais-Vidricaire, Marie : Post(s)". w05.international.gc.ca. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  2. ^ NATO’s New Strategic Concept, Marie Gervais-Vidricaire member of NATO expert group.
  3. ^ "Diplomatic Appointments". News Releases. Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development Canada. August 23, 2013. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  4. ^ Zimonjic, Peter (January 31, 2017). "Stéphane Dion accepts diplomatic role, as he and John McCallum bid farewell to House". CBC News. Retrieved February 6, 2017.