Donald Ethell

Donald Stewart Ethell, OC, AOE ( born July 23, 1937 in Vancouver ) is a retired Canadian officer. Since 2010 he is the incumbent Vice Governor of the Province of Alberta and as such represents the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, at the provincial level.

Biography

Ethell, the son of a naval officer and a nurse who grew up in the city of Victoria. In 1957, he joined the Canadian Army, after he had been expelled for disciplinary reasons from the Air Force and rejected by the Navy. From 1960 to 1963 he was stationed in West Germany. With the promotion to colonel in 1972, he began his career as a professional officer.

In the following years, Ethell, who now lived in Calgary, participated in 14 peacekeeping missions in part, including in Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Central America and the Balkans. From 1987 to 1990 he coordinated as a director in the Ministry of Defence in Ottawa, the various Canadian missions under the United Nations. These included operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Namibia and Central America. During the Second Gulf War, he was chief of staff and deputy commander of international troops and observers. Subsequently, he was until 1993 head of delegation of the Canadian officers who were members of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Yugoslavia.

After his retirement, Ethell worked for the CBC and other media as an analyst. He became increasingly involved in the humanitarian field and advised CARE Canada in the construction of five refugee camps in Kenya and Somalia. He also had an advisory role for UN missions in Haiti, Rwanda and Angola. Governor General Michaëlle Jean sworn Ethell on 11 May 2010 as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.