Jules Léger: Encyclopedia II - Jules Léger - Early years

Jules Léger - Early years

Born in Saint-Anicet, Quebec, Léger was raised in a devoutly religious family. His older brother, Paul-Émile Cardinal Léger, dedicated his life to the Roman Catholic priesthood, being appointed Archbishop of Montreal in 1950 and three years later made a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Jules Léger married Gabrielle Carmel on August 13, 1938, who as the spouse of the Governor General is made a Companion of the Order of Canada. The couple had one daughter.

Studying first at the Collège de Valleyfield and then at the Université de Montréal, he completed a degree in law prior to receiving a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1938. He was an associate editor of Le Droit in Ottawa from 1938 to 1939, and from 1939 to 1942 he taught the history of diplomacy at the University of Ottawa.

Léger joined External Affairs in 1940, the start of a successful career as a diplomat. In 1953 he became Canada's Ambassador to Mexico. He was later appointed as the Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs, and in 1958 was made Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council and Canadian representative to the Organization for European Economic Cooperation in Paris. In 1962 and 1964 he held posts as Ambassador to Italy and France respectively, followed by his appointment in 1973 as the Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg. In 1974, he was appointed Governor General of Canada.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Early years", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki