Vice-Admiral Lawrence Edward Murray (born 6 June 1947) is a retired Canadian civil servant, naval officer and former acting chief of the Defence Staff.

Military career

Born in

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River within Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2016 population of 31,465 in a land area of . Stratford is the seat of Perth County, which was settled by English, Irish, Scottish and German im ...

, Murray joined the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

in September 1964. Murray served as the commanding officer of various ships including the minesweepers HMCS ''Chaleur'' and HMCS ''Miramichi'' and the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

. He was appointed commander of the First Canadian Destroyer Squadron in 1987 and director-general of Maritime Doctrine & Operations at

National Defence Headquarters National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) ( French: ''Quartiers généraux de la Défense nationale'' (''QGDN'')) was created through the integration of Canadian Armed Forces Headquarters (CAF HQ) with the civilian Department of National Defence (DN ...

in 1989. He went on to be assistant deputy with the minister policy & communications portfolio in 1991 and deputy commander of Maritime Command in 1993. He became commander of Maritime Command in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

in 1994. He became vice chief of the Defence Staff in 1995 continuing in that role while serving as acting chief of Defence Staff from October 8, 1996 until September 17, 1997.Larry Murray
Trudeau Foundation

Civilian career

In 1997, Murray was appointed associate deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and in 1999 was appointed deputy minister of Veterans Affairs Canada. He was subsequently appointed deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and served in that role from 2003 until his retirement from the public sector in 2007. Murray was a member of the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

, a Trudeau Foundation Mentor, and served as president of the Nova Scotia Mainland Division of the Navy League of Canada. From 2008 to 2015, he served as an external member of the National Defence Audit Committee and, from 2009 to 2017, as chair of the Privy Council Audit Committee. In June 2010, Murray took over the honorary position of grand president of the

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...

. In 2015, Murray became chair of the Independent Review Panel on Defence Acquisition. 00046 0100 MG 7748

Honours

In 1983, Murray was made an officer of the Order of Military Merit, and was promoted to the grade of commander in 1994. In 1984, Murray was awarded the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) Commendation for his role as Commanding Officer of HMCS Iroquois in the successful rescue of the crew of the foundering Panamanian bulk freighter HO MING 5 in a gale south of Newfoundland in December 1983. HMCS Iroquois also received a CDS Unit Commendation for the same rescue. In 1998, he was a recipient of the

Vimy Award The Vimy Award is an award presented by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute (CDA Institute) to the "Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of Canada and the preservation of (its) dem ...

, which recognizes a Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of Canada and the preservation of its democratic values. Murray served in the honorary position of colonel commandant of the Chaplain Branch of the Canadian Forces for five years and was appointed a member of the Order of St John in 2001. He was awarded the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation for his contribution to the care and well-being of veterans and to the remembrance of their service and sacrifice. On June 28, 2013, he was appointed a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

"for his leadership in the public service and for his regional and national voluntary commitments".

References

External links

*
Royal Canadian Navy official webpage
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Larry 1947 births Canadian admirals Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada) Vice Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada) 20th-century Canadian civil servants 21st-century Canadian civil servants Living people Canadian military personnel from Ontario People from Stratford, Ontario Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Members of the Order of Canada Commanders of the Royal Canadian Navy