NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CANADA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS

Biographical Note                                          

NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CANADA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS

(Based on information received from the Protocol and Liaison Service.)

Allan Rock, the new Permanent Representative of Canada, presented his credentials today to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Before his current appointment, Mr. Rock was Canada’s Minister of Industry, with broad responsibility for the country’s economic growth and development from January 2002 to December 2003.  During his tenure, Canada adopted a new national innovation strategy, the key targets of which were to move the country by 2010 into the top five nations in the world for research and development and for marketing unique products and services for the global economy.  As minister responsible for intellectual property, Mr. Rock tabled legislation that would make Canada the first developed country to amend its patent laws and permit the production and export to developing countries of low-cost, generic drugs to treat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics.

From 1997 to 2002, Mr. Rock served as Minister of Health.  In Canada’s publicly financed system of universal health care coverage, he focused on timely access to quality care through increased federal funding and modernizing the delivery of health services.  He also created the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and more than doubled Canada’s annual investment in health research.

He served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General from 1993 to 1997.  In that capacity, he introduced strong gun control laws, banning most handguns, outlawing military-type assault weapons and imposing mandatory minimum prison terms on those convicted of committing crimes with guns.  As Minister of Justice, he also strengthened the criminal law to target hate crimes, broadened the country’s human rights laws and adopted many measures aimed at reducing violence against women.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1993, following a successful legal career in which he developed a reputation as one of Canada’s pre-eminent advocates.  He graduated from the University of Ottawa and holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees.  Born in 1947, Mr. Rock is married with four children. 

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