{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["canada-c641144e14e280"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/raymond-chretien-d50fe5cddb/","countrySlug":"canada","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/raymond-chretien-d50fe5cddb/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Raymond Chrétien joined Canada’s Department of External Affairs in 1966 after studying law at Université Laval. His early assignments included New York, Beirut, and Paris. He became ambassador to Zaire in 1978 and later represented Canada in Mexico and Belgium, interspersing overseas service with senior administrative positions in Ottawa.","As ambassador in Washington from 1994 to 2000, Chrétien worked on implementing NAFTA and explained Canadian politics during the 1995 Quebec referendum. In 1996, the United Nations secretary general also appointed him special envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa during a humanitarian crisis. He subsequently served in France before retiring from the federal public service in 2004.","Canada then appointed him chief federal negotiator in talks with the James Bay Cree over implementation of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement and related litigation."],"id":"canada:raymond chretien","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-d50fe5cddb38f3fe2246.html","name":"Raymond Chrétien","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["ambcanada-bio"],["ambcanada-bio"],["cree-appointment"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-d50fe5cddb38f3fe2246.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"a827b9286b3810de","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"ambcanada-bio","locator":"Biography","publisher":"Canadian Ambassadors Alumni Association","title":"Raymond Chrétien","type":"institutional-history","url":"https://ambcanada.ca/canadian-diplomacy/ambassadors/raymond-chretien/"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2004-08-19","id":"cree-appointment","locator":"Announcement and mandate","publisher":"Government of Canada","title":"Raymond Chrétien appointed chief federal negotiator for James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement negotiations","type":"primary-record","url":"https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2004/08/raymond-chretien-appointed-chief-federal-negotiator-james-bay-northern-quebec-agreement-negotiations.html"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-4f9433161ff49a39f96c","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Raymond Chrétien — mission record (1994–2000)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://w05.international.gc.ca/CHOMA-CDMCE/Posting/View/2381"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 21 October 2026","id":"mission-3c9e89462afdcdc1960d","locator":"Tenure chronology; pre-1989 appointments belong to earlier chancery buildings.","publisher":"","title":"Canadian ambassadors to the United States: roster","type":"Mission record","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_Canada_to_the_United_States"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-82c43f9c37cddef97ede","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Raymond Chrétien — mission record (1994–2000)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president/canada"}],"topics":["NAFTA","Quebec referendum","Great Lakes crisis","Indigenous agreements"]},"schemaVersion":1}