Jules Léger

The Right Honourable  Jules Léger  PC, CC, LLB Mont, LLD Paris, LLD(hc) Ott
21st Governor General of Canada
In office 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Roland Michener
Succeeded by	Edward Schreyer
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Born	4 April 1913(1913-04-04) Saint-Anicet, Quebec
Died	22 November 1980 (aged 67) Ottawa, Ontario
Spouse(s)	Gabrielle Léger
Profession	Diplomat
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jules Léger PC CC CMM CD (4 April 1913 – 22 November 1980) was a Canadian diplomat and statesman who, until 22 January 1979, served as the Governor General of Canada. He was appointed as such by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on the recommendation of then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, to replace Roland Michener as viceroy. The official announcement of the appointment was made on 5 October 1973,^[1] and Léger's investiture as the 21st governor general since Confederation took place on 14 January 1974.^[1]

Léger was born and educated in Quebec and France prior to starting a career in the Canadian Department of External Affairs, and eventually served as ambassador to a number of countries. He was appointed as the Canadian viceroy in early 1974, and was credited for modernising the office of the Governor General and fostering Canadian unity. On 1 June 1979, Léger was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada,^[2] giving him the accordant style of The Honourable; however, as a former governor general of Canada, Léger was entitled to be styled for life with the superior form of The Right Honourable.

Youth and career

Born in Saint-Anicet, Quebec, to Ernest and Alda (née Beauvais) Léger, Jules Léger, along with his brother, Paul-Émile Léger, was raised in a devoutly religious family. After completing high school, he went on to the Collège de Valleyfield and then the Université de Montréal, where he completed a law degree. Léger subsequently enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris, from which he was awarded a doctorate in 1938, the same year that, on 13 August, he married Gabrielle Carmel, whom he'd met at the University of Paris. The couple together had one daughter.

When Léger returned to Canada at the end of 1938, he was hired as an associate editor of Le Droit in Ottawa, but remained there for only one year before he went on to become a professor of diplomatic history at the University of Ottawa until 1942. Simultaneously, Léger joined the Department of External Affairs in 1940, and, in just over 13 years, received his first overseas diplomatic posting as Canada's ambassador to Mexico. After his retirement from that office on 1 August 1954,^[3] he returned to Ottawa to act as Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs, until, on 25 September 1958, he was commissioned as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council (occupying that post until 5 July 1962),^[4] as well as the Canadian representative to the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation in Paris. Then, from 1962 to 1964, Léger held the commission of Ambassador to Italy,^[5] and, from 1964 to 1968 was the Ambassador to France.^[6] It was during this time, in July 1967, that French President Charles de Gaulle visited Canada to attend Expo 67, and in Montreal gave his infamous Vive le Québec libre speech. This intrusion of the President into Canadian affairs caused a diplomatic chill for decades thereafter between Canada and France; however, Léger attracted admiration for his sensitive handling of de Gaulle's policy towards Quebec.^[7]

By 1968, Léger had returned to Canada's capital and was appointed as Under-Secretary of State, providing the administrative basis for Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson's foreign policy, and the policies on bilingualism and multiculturalism developed by the Cabinet chaired by Pearson's successor, Pierre Trudeau.^[7] Léger left that position in 1972, and briefly served as Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg between March 1973 and January 1974.^[8][9]

Governor generalship

It was announced from the Prime Minister's office on 5 October 1973 that Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, had approved the recommendation of her Canadian prime minister, Trudaeau, to appoint Léger as her representative. He was subsequently sworn-in during a ceremony in the Senate chamber on 14 January of the following year.

Only six months later, just prior to a ceremony wherein he was to receive an honorary degree from the Université de Sherbrooke, Léger suffered a stroke, leaving him with impeded speech and a paralysed right arm. Though he returned to his viceregal duties not long after, presiding over an Order of Canada investiture in December 1974, his wife assisted him on many occasions, even reading parts of the Speech from the Throne in 1976 and 1978. Still, the Légers travelled across the country, encouraging Canadian unity at a time fraught with Quebec sovereignty disputes and perceived alienation by other regions,^[7] as well promoting the fine arts and artistic endeavours, aided at such by their friendships with painters such as Jean Paul Lemieux, Alfred Pellan, and Jean Dallaire.^[1] Léger also established awards for new chamber music and for heritage conservation, as well as seeing the University of Regina create in 1974 the Jules Léger Scholarship to promote academic excellence in bilingual programs.

Léger was credited with greatly modernising the Office of the Governor General, having, among other things, eschewed the traditional court dress of the Windsor uniform in favour of morning dress at state functions. Still, he remained focused on the person and institution he represented, and was known to write to the Queen on a monthly basis.^[10] His official portrait was a first for showing a governor general dressed in this fashion, as well as for including the viceregal consort, the latter being done to recognise Gabrielle's contributions to her husband's service.^[1]

Post viceregal life

After leaving Rideau Hall, the Légers continued to live in Ottawa. Léger died on 22 November 1980, and was survived by his wife and daughter.

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Titles

Viceregal styles of Jules Léger
Reference style	His Excellency The Right Honourable Son Excellence le très honorable
Spoken style	Your Excellency Votre Excellence
Alternative style	Sir Monsieur

• 4 April 1913 – 14 October 1953: Mister Jules Léger
• 14 October 1953 – 8 July 1954: His Excellency Jules Léger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mexico
• 8 July 1954 – 28 May 1962: Mister Jules Léger
• 28 May 1962 – 20 February 1964: His Excellency Jules Léger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Italy
• 20 February 1964 – 17 April 1964: His Excellency Jules Léger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Italy and France
• 17 April 1964 – 31 October 1968: His Excellency Jules Léger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France
• 31 October 1968 – 1 March 1973: Mister Jules Léger
• 1 March 1973 – 8 January 1974: His Excellency Jules Léger, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgium and Luxembourg
• 8 January 1974 – 14 January 1974: Mister Jules Léger
• 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979: His Excellency The Right Honourable Jules Léger, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada
• 22 January 1979 – 22 November 1980: The Right Honourable Jules Léger

Léger's style and title as governor general was, in full, and in English: His Excellency The Right Honourable Jules Léger, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada, and in French: Son Excellence le très honorable Jules Léger, chancelièr et compagnon principal de l'ordre du Canada, chancelièr et commandant de l'ordre du mérite militaire, gouverneur générale et commandant en chef du Canada. It should be noted that, for Léger, Commander-in-Chief was strictly a title, and not a position that he held; the actual commander-in-chief (who can also be, and is, called such) is perpetually the monarch of Canada.^[11]

In his post-viceregal life, Léger's style and title is, in English: The Right Honourable Jules Léger, Companion of the Order of Canada, Commander of the Order of Military Merit, and in French: le très honorable Jules Léger, compagnon de l'ordre du Canada, commandant de l'ordre du mérite militaire.

Honours

Ribbon bars of Jules Léger

Appointments

• 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979: Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)^[12]
  • 22 January 1979 – 22 November 1980: Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)
• 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979: Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)^[13]
  • 22 January 1979 – 22 November 1980: Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)
• 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979: Knight of Justice, Prior, and Chief Officer in Canada of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ)^[14]
  • 22 January 1979 – 22 November 1980: Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ)
• 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979: Chief Scout of Canada
• 1974 – 22 November 1980: Honorary Member of the Royal Military College of Canada Club
• 1 June 1979 – 22 November 1980: Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada (PC)

Medals

• 14 January 1974: Canadian Forces Decoration (CD)
• 1977: Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal

Honorary military appointments

• 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979: Colonel of the Regiment of the Governor General's Horse Guards
• 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979: Colonel of the Regiment of the Governor General's Foot Guards
• 14 January 1974 – 22 January 1979: Colonel of the Regiment of the Canadian Grenadier Guards

Honorary degrees

• Ontario: University of Ottawa, Doctor of Laws (LLD)

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Honorific eponyms

Awards

• Canada: Jules and Gabrielle Léger Fellowship
• Saskatchewan: Jules Léger Scholarship, University of Regina, Regina

Arms

Arms of Jules Léger Notes As Léger served as governor general prior to the establishment of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, he was not granted a coat of arms until 1988, when his surviving relatives petitioned the Chief Herald of Canada some eight years after Léger's death. The design is based on the seal created for Léger by Alex Colville in 1975;[15] unlike the arms for subsequent governors general, Léger's is devoid of embelishment, includeing neither the ribbon and insignia of the Order of Canada, nor supporters, crest, compartment, or motto. Adopted 4 June 1988 Escutcheon Blue Céleste in chief an owl affronty hovering Argent in base a maple leaf ensigned by the Royal Crown both Or.[16] Symbolism The maple leaf is symbolic of Canada, and the Crown of the Canadian sovereign that Léger represented as viceroy. The Snowy Owl evokes wisdom, and is also the official bird of Quebec, where Léger was born and raised.

See also

• Politics of Canada
• List of awards named after Governors General of Canada
• List of state leaders by date
• Governor-General > Independent Commonwealth realms
• Diplomatic corps

References

External links

• Website of the Governor General of Canada entry for Jules Léger

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