Ian Ross Brodie (born July 25, 1967) is a Canadian

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and was Chief of Staff in Stephen Harper's Prime Minister's Office from Harper's ascension to the position of

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

until July 1, 2008. The news that he was leaving the post came days before the release of a report on the Clinton/Obama NAFTA leak controversy. He is currently a professor in the Department of Political Science at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

Early life and education

Brodie attended high school at the

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by competitive ex ...

. He earned a BA in political science from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, and an MA and a PhD from the

. In 1997, he became assistant professor of political science at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

; promotion to tenured associate professor came in 2002. At Western, he specialized in

Canadian politics The politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch is head of state. In pr ...

, particularly Canadian conservative politics and law and politics. His book ''Friends of the Court: The Privileging of Interest Group Litigants in Canada'' ( State University of New York Press, 2002), a revision of his doctoral dissertation, discussed the treatment of interest groups seeking leave to intervene before the Supreme Court of Canada. ''Friends'' posited that the court had come to favor a preferred set of interest groups, and explored the legal theory by which this had come about.

Political career

In 2003, he took leave from Western to become assistant to the chief of staff in the office of the federal leader of the opposition, first under Harper when he led the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed ...

, then under Grant Hill's interim

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their ...

ship in 2004. When Harper became leader of the successor Conservative Party of Canada, he appointed Brodie its

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

. In August 2005 he appointed Brodie his chief of staff. When Harper became prime minister after the 2006 election, Brodie became PMO chief of staff. His book ''At the Centre of Government'' ( McGill-Queen's University Press, 2018) is based in part on his experiences with Harper.

References

External links

Ian Brodie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodie, Ian 1967 births Living people Canadian political scientists Writers from Toronto McGill University alumni University of Calgary alumni University of Western Ontario faculty Chiefs of staff of the Canadian Prime Minister's Office