Appointed to the post of Governor-General of Canada, the rank directly
below that of Queen Elizabeth II, Canada's head of state. [4 August 2005].
Fluent in five languages - English, French, Italian, Spanish and
Haitian Creole.
The first black and youngest person to be Governor General of Canada
At age 11, she and her family fled the brutal regime of François
Duvalier.
Prime Minister of Canada, Paul Martin, announced that she was
to become Governor General of Canada from the end of September
2005. (August 2005)
She was from 30 November 2014 to 12 October 2018 general secretary of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). She was replaced by Louise Mushikiwabo, external affairs minister of Rwanda.