Adrienne Clarkson
Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, née Adrienne Poy (伍冰枝 in pinyin: Wu3 Bing1 zhi1; in Cantonese: Ng5 Benk1 zi1) (born February 10, 1939 in Hong Kong) is, as of July 2003, the current Governor General of Canada (since 1999). She is the second woman to hold this position, after Jeanne Sauvé.
A Hakka raised in Ontario, Clarkson's ancestry is Taishan, Guangdong, China. She came to Canada as a refugee with her family during the Second World War in 1942. She studied at the University of Toronto and the Sorbonne. Clarkson is the daughter of William Poy (伍英才 pinyin: Wu Yingcai) and Ethel Poy.
She is well-known from her work in broadcasting, having hosted and produced several shows for the CBC; these include Take Thirty, Adrienne at Large, the 5th estate, Adrienne Clarkson's Summer Festival, and Adrienne Clarkson Presents. She was the president and publisher of McClelland & Stewart from 1987 to 1988 and has written several books.
In 1999 she was nominated Governor General by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and approved by Queen Elizabeth II, The Queen of Canada and head of state.
She is married to Canadian author and philosopher John Ralston Saul. She is also the sister-in-law of Vivienne Poy.
She has been criticized about the way she and her office spend money. Her recent 19-day circumpolar "northern identity" tour to Russia, Finland, and Iceland, along with 50 other prominent Canadians has been seen as a waste of money by some of the Canadian public, particularily after a recent similar scandal involving George Radwanski; but her office defended the trip as successful, particularly with regard to her warm reception in Russia and her meeting with Vladimir Putin. The trip was commissioned and paid for by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
See also: Chinese Canadian
| Preceded by: Roméo LeBlanc | List of Canadian Governors General | Succeeded by: --- |
