Raymond Chrétien

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. ¹

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. ¹

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. ²