Marc-André Blanchard (born November 10, 1965) is a Canadian executive, lawyer and former diplomat. He served as Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, from April 1, 2016 until July 31, 2020."Trudeau picks close allies as ambassadors to U.S. and UN"
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The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 16, 2016. Blanchard is a graduate of the Université de Montréal, the London School of Economics and Columbia University. Prior to his appointment to the United Nations, Blanchard was chairman and CEO of McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada's largest

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

s, and was president of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

from 2000 to 2008. He served on Justin Trudeau's transition team following the 2015 election. In 2013, Blanchard was named among the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada by ''Canadian Lawyer Magazine'', and Catalyst Canada awarded him the CEO Recognition Award for his leadership in gender diversity. In 2016, was nominated to represent Trudeau's foreign policy at the United Nations as Permanent Representative of Canada to the U.N. That same year, Blanchard was awarded Advocatus Emeritus by the

Quebec Bar Association The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...

. In 2017, he was named as a member of Canada's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Council. On May 3, 2018 he was named as Canada's Representative to the Ismaili Imamat, an announcement coinciding with the Canadian Diamond Jubilee visit of the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...

. Blanchard retired from his diplomatic postings on July 31, 2020, shortly after Canada lost the

2020 United Nations Security Council election The 2020 United Nations Security Council election was held on 17 and 18 June 2020 during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The elections were for five non-permanent se ...

. Effective September 8, 2020, he is an executive vice-president of pension fund manager

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ; ) is an institutional investor that manages several public and parapublic pension plans and insurance programs in Quebec. CDPQ was founded in 1965 by an act of the National Assembly, under the go ...

in charge of its CDPQ Global division, with responsibility for the United States/Latin America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

References

1965 births 21st-century Canadian lawyers 20th-century Canadian lawyers French Quebecers Quebec Liberal Party politicians Permanent Representatives of Canada to the United Nations Living people Canadian political party presidents {{Canada-law-bio-stub