Louise Arbour Sworn in as Canada’s New Governor General

TORONTO: Retired Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour was officially installed as Canada’s new governor general on Monday following a swearing-in ceremony held in Ottawa, marking the start of her tenure as the representative of King Charles III in Canada.

The governor general serves as the federal representative of Britain’s monarch, who remains Canada’s head of state as a member of the Commonwealth. While the position carries important constitutional responsibilities, it is largely ceremonial and symbolic in nature.

Arbour, 79, succeeds Mary Simon, who made history in 2021 as Canada’s first Indigenous governor general. Prime Minister Mark Carney selected Arbour, a Francophone legal expert, for the role.

The ceremony was marked by formal military traditions, including the playing of “God Save the King” by the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces and the raising of the Governor General’s Flag on Parliament Hill.

Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading figures in international law and human rights, Arbour has had a distinguished judicial career, serving on the Supreme Court of Ontario, the Ontario Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 1996, she was appointed by the United Nations as Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In that role, she oversaw landmark legal proceedings, including the first conviction for genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention and the first indictment of a sitting head of state for war crimes.

Arbour’s appointment is being seen as a continuation of Canada’s tradition of selecting prominent legal and public service figures for the country’s vice-regal post.