INDEPTH: GOVERNOR GENERAL
Previous governors general
CBC News Online | Oct. 11, 2005
Adrienne Clarkson became Canada’s 26th Governor General in 1999.
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Adrienne Clarkson
26th Governor General, assumed office in 1999. Clarkson was born in Hong Kong in 1939 and came to Canada as a refugee in 1942. After completing a BA and MA at the University of Toronto, she joined CBC Television and worked as a host, writer, and producer for 17 years (1965-1982). Clarkson was appointed agent general for Ontario in Paris in 1982 and served for five years. She re-joined the CBC in 1988 as host and writer for CBC's Adrienne Clarkson's Summer Festival and Adrienne Clarkson Presents (1988-1999).
Romeo Leblanc
25th governor general, sworn in on Feb. 8, 1995. Served until October 1999. LeBlanc, an Acadian born in Memramcook, N.B., in 1927, was the first governor general from the Maritimes.
Ramon John Hnatyshyn
24th Governor General, sworn in on Jan. 29, 1990. Served until February 1995. Helped turn the governor general’s official residence into a tourist destination. Hnatyshyn was born on March 16, 1934, in Saskatoon. He died on Dec. 18, 2002.
Jeanne Sauvé
23rd Governor General, sworn in on May 14, 1984. Sauvé was the first woman to hold the post. Before assuming the role, she had also been the first female Cabinet member from Quebec and the first woman elected as Speaker of the House of Commons. Sauvé served until January of 1990. She died on Jan. 26, 1993.
Edward Schreyer
22nd Governor General, sworn in on Jan. 22, 1979. Schreyer, a former New Democratic Party premier of Manitoba, was the youngest governor general in 100 years. He was 43 when he assumed the post. During his tenure, he promoted the equality of women and the protection of the environment. He served until May of 1984.
Jules Léger
21st Governor General, sworn in on Jan. 14, 1974. Léger suffered a stroke shortly after taking on the job. His wife, Gabrielle Léger, assumed some of his activities while he recovered. She is the only spouse to be featured in an official portrait of a governor general. Léger served until January of1979. He was born on April 4, 1913 in St-Anicet, Quebec. He died on Nov. 22, 1980.
Roland Michener
20th Governor General, sworn in on April 17, 1967. Michener – who was born in Lacombe, Alberta - took up the job during Canada’s centennial year, and received a constant stream of foreign dignitaries at his official residence. The Order of Canada was created on July 1, 1967 and Michener handed out the first batch in November of that year. He served until January of 1974. He died on Aug. 6, 1991 at the age of 91.
Georges P. Vanier
19th Governor General, sworn in on Sept. 15, 1959. Thirty-eight years earlier, he lived on the grounds of Rideau Hall after he was appointed as an aide to then Governor General Lord Byng. Vanier promoted bilingualism and Canadian unity. His health was poor and he died on March 5, 1967 while still in office. He was the second governor general to die in office since confederation. Vanier was from Montreal.
Vincent Massey
18th Governor General, sworn in on Feb. 28, 1952. The appointment of Toronto-born Vincent Massey marked the beginning of an era in Canada: Massey was the first Canadian to hold the post of governor general. Before his tenure, governors general were British. He held the post until September of 1959. Massey died on Dec. 30, 1967.
| Earlier governors general |
| The Viscount Alexander |
1946-1952 |
| The Earl of Athlone |
1940-1946 |
| Lord Tweedsmuir |
1935-1940 |
| The Earl of Bessborough |
1931-1935 |
| The Viscount Willingdon |
1926-1931 |
| Lord Byng |
1921-1926 |
| The Duke of Devonshire |
1916-1921 |
| H.R.H The Duke of Connaught |
1911-1916 |
| Earl Grey |
1904-1911 |
| The Earl of Minto |
1898-1904 |
| The Earl of Aberdeen |
1893-1898 |
| Lord Stanley |
1888-1893 |
| The Marquess of Lansdowne |
1883-1888 |
| The Duke of Argyll (Marquess of Lorne) |
1878-1883 |
| The Earl of Dufferin |
1872-1878 |
| Lord Lisgar |
1869-1872 |
| The Viscount Monck |
1867-1868 |
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