Michaëlle Jean
Michaëlle Jean, CC ( mika.ɛl ʒɑ; born September 6, 1957 in Port-au -Prince, Haiti ) is a Canadian journalist. From 27 September 2005 to 30 September 2010, she was the 27th Governor General of Canada. In this role, she was deputy of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as well as ex officio supreme commander of the Canadian Forces.
Born and raised in Haiti is Jean, along with her parents she came to Canada in 1968 as a refugee. After graduating she worked as a journalist and presenter at Radio -Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In addition, it was strongly committed to private relief organizations, particularly in the area of domestic violence. On a proposal by Prime Minister Paul Martin was appointed by the Queen to the first colored Governor General in Canadian history. Since the end of her tenure Jean has worked as a goodwill ambassador of UNESCO for Haiti.
Youth, students and professionals
Jean was born in the Haitian capital Port -au -Prince. There they spent the winter, while in summer and on weekends in Jacmel, the home of her mother lived. 1968 Jean's family fled from Haiti to escape the regime of dictator François Duvalier. Her father, a philosophy professor and school director, had been repeatedly detained and tortured. After arriving in Canada, the family first lived in a basement apartment in Montreal and later moved to Thetford Mines.
After leaving school, studied Jean Italian, Spanish and Literature at the Université de Montréal. During her post-graduate studies in comparative literature, she taught from 1984 to 1986 Italian students. She attended more courses at the University of Florence, at the University of Perugia and at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. In addition to the Canadian official languages French and English, she is fluent in Spanish, Italian and Haitian Creole; Also they can read Portuguese.
During their 1979-1987 studies lasting Jean worked in a women's shelter, which inspired them to build additional facilities of its kind in Canada. She was also involved in charities in favor of immigrants. Later she worked in the employment and immigration ministry and in the Cultural Council of the Province of Quebec, where she began to write about the experiences of immigrants. She married French-born filmmaker Jean -Daniel Lafond; the couple adopted an orphan girl from Jacmel.
In 1988, Jean reporter, documentary filmmaker and presenter for Radio Canada. In 1995, she joined the Réseau de l'information (RDI ), the news channel of Radio Canada, where she hosted several other programs. Four years later, she accepted the offer moderation of the English news channel CBC Newsworld. In 2004 she was awarded his own show, Michaëlle. In the same period, Jean turned with her husband several documentaries, including the award -winning Haïti dans tous nos rêves ( " Haiti in all of our dreams " ), in which, inter alia, her uncle, the writer René Depestre meets.
Controversial appointment as Governor-General
Prime Minister Paul Martin announced on July 4, 2005 that Queen Elizabeth II had his proposal to appoint Michaëlle Jean Governor General to assume. The opposition and the incumbent Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson commented on this decision favorably. The separatist newspaper Le Québécois was announced on July 11 that it would uncover in a yet to be published articles supporting the independence of Québec by Jean and her husband Lafond, especially Lafonds relations with former members of the terrorist group Front de libération du Québec. Leading politicians demanded information about Jeans political setting. Four days later, the prime minister realized that Jean and her husband a thorough vetting by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had been subjected and that no concerns about her loyalty existed.
On August 17, appeared rumors that Jean was to be seen in a documentary along with Quebec separatists. Jean stressed that same day that she had never belonged to a political party and that the mentioned documentary not Quebec is concerned, but Haiti. A further controversy ensued because of their dual citizenship ( with the marriage she was become also French ). The Civil Code prohibits French citizens to assume positions in government or military in other states. On September 25, Jean was announced that she had given up French citizenship.
Official leadership as Governor General
Jean was introduced on 27 September 2005 into office. In her inaugural speech, she stressed that she will use her office to overcome the chasm between Anglophone and Francophone Canadians. Also called for the protection of the environment, the protection of the culture of globalization and the end of the marginalization of youth. Was jeans approval rating at the beginning of their term of office is still relatively low - a result of infighting after the appointment - so it got better with time. However, they had the habit to express themselves, with significant words on the political situation (Traditional behaves the Governor-General are very cautious ). Jeans first state visit led in February 2006 to Italy. Three months later, she visited for the first time in her capacity as representative of the Canadian head of state her native Haiti, where she attended the official inauguration of President René Préval, and was received with enthusiasm in Jacmel. Due to a thyroid disorder she had in 2007 for several months the number of their public appearances to a minimum.
In December 2008, Jean had to cancel a state visit to Europe to avert a political crisis in Canada. The ruling Conservative Party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper did not have the majority in the House after the general election of 2008. The opposition parties threatened a no-confidence vote and form a coalition government. A precedent following, Jean accepted after two hours of deliberation Harper's request to suspend the operation of Parliament by the end of January 2009. Had they knocked out this desire, they would have had the option to either instruct the opposition to form a government or re- declare elections after only four months. Jean took in December 2009 at the request of another controversial Harper's suspension of Parliament before operation, which lasted until the end of February 2010. Harper justified this by saying that the government in view of the economic crisis needed more time to work out a business plan. The opposition accused the government, she wanted only to dodge uncomfortable questions. These related to the torture of several Afghan prisoners who had delivered the Canadian military to the Afghan intelligence service.
In May 2009, Jean internationally made headlines when she ate a raw seal heart during a visit to the Inuit. Thus, it positioned itself as a proponent of the controversial seal hunt, and set a sign against the recently adopted by the European Union ban on imports of Canadian seal products. After the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, which caused devastating damage, in particular in their home towns of Port -au -Prince and Jacmel, Jean sat a large extent for the victims. On 12 February 2010, she opened the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
In June 2010, told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon that he had appointed Jean Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO for Haiti. In this role, she will help to fight poverty and illiteracy in Haiti as well as to collect worldwide, named after their foundation donations. Jean took up her new post on October 1, 2010; her successor as Governor General David Johnston is.