Adrienne Clarkson

Adrienne Louise Clarkson PC CC CMM COM CD (née Adrienne Louise Poy, 10 February 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since that country's confederation. Clarkson is a refugee from Hong Kong, coming with her family to Canada in 1941 to settle and be raised in Ottawa, Ontario. After receiving a number of university degrees, Clarkson worked as a producer and broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and as a journalist for various magazines. Her first diplomatic postings came in the early 1980s, when she promoted Ontario culture in France and other European countries. She was in 1999 appointed as governor general by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien, to replace Roméo LeBlanc as viceroy, and she occupied the post until succeeded by Michaëlle Jean in 2005. While Clarkson's appointment as the Canadian vicereine was generally welcomed at first, she caused some controversy during her time serving as the Queen's representative, mostly due to costs incurred in the operation of her office, as well as a somewhat anti-monarchist attitude towards the position.