Biographical notes

Backgrounder

Mark Berman (BA [Political Science and International Relations], University of Saskatchewan, 1982; LLB, University of Saskatchewan, 1986; LLM, London School of Economics, 1989) joined the Government of Canada in 1989 as adviser to the Minister of the Environment and then served as executive assistant to the Deputy Minister of the Environment. In 1993, he joined the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi as a legal officer. After 6 years in Nairobi and Geneva, he returned to Canada as a director in the Office of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. He then joined the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 2000 as deputy director for Human Security and Peacebuilding. In 2005, he returned to Environment Canada as director for Climate Change Negotiations. In 2008, he was seconded to CIDA’s Multilateral Branch as acting director general for Environmental Sustainability and Economic Growth. In 2009, Mr. Berman joined Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada as executive director for Climate and Energy and Canada’s representative on the Kyoto Protocol’s Compliance Committee. In 2012, he served as executive director for International Crime and Terrorism and was then appointed director general for Consular Policy in 2017.

Christina Buchan (BA Hons [Political Studies and French], St. Lawrence University, 1998; MA [Political Science], Queen’s University, 1999) joined the Canadian International Development Agency in 2003. During her time at Headquarters, she served as director of the Sudan Program (2009 to 2011), the Colombia and Bolivia programs (2011 to 2012), global health (2013 to 2014) and humanitarian organizations and food assistance (2014 to 2016). Positions overseas include Afghanistan (2005 to 2006), where she served as first secretary (development) in Kabul and then development adviser to the military’s Regional Command South in Kandahar. In addition, she was a consultant for UNICEF and the World Food Programme in Jordan (2016 to 2019).

 

Jeannette Menzies (BA Hons [Canadian Studies], University of Manitoba, 1995; MA [Canadian Heritage and Development Studies], Trent University, 1998) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2001. At Headquarters, from 2006 to 2013, she served in various roles, including senior adviser to the assistant deputy minister of Consular Affairs and Emergency Management, deputy director of Circumpolar Affairs and deputy director of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Response. Abroad, from 2003 to 2006, she served as political officer in Ankara, where she was responsible for bilateral relations with Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. From 2013 to 2015, she served as head of the Canadian International Centre for the Arctic Region in Oslo during Canada’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council. From 2015 to 2019, she was a director at Polar Knowledge Canada, where she established domestic and international partnerships at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station Campus in Nunavut. She is currently senior adviser in the Nordic and Polar Relations Division.

Adrian Norfolk (BA [Geography], University of Victoria, 1977; BEd [Geography and Economics], University of London, 1978) joined External Affairs and International Trade Canada as a foreign service officer in 1994 after a 14-year career with the World University Service of Canada (including postings in Nigeria, Malawi and Sri Lanka). At Headquarters, he served as deputy director with the Human Rights Division, director of the Policy and Advocacy Division of the Afghanistan Task Force, special adviser with the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force, and coordinator of the Interdepartmental Task Force on International Critical Incidents. Abroad, Mr. Norfolk served at the Embassy to Malaysia (1995 to 1998) and as counsellor (political) in both India (2004 to 2008) and Afghanistan (2008 to 2009). From 2011 to 2012, he established and headed the Office of the Embassy of Canada in South Sudan, and from 2015 to 2018, he was ambassador to Qatar. In 2018, he became chargé d’affaires en pied in Sudan.

Giles Norman (BA Hons, Lancaster University, 1990; LLB, Queen’s University, 1996) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1999 after being called to the Bar of the Law Society of Ontario in 1998. His overseas assignments include political officer in Ankara (2001 to 2004), political and trade counsellor in Colombo (2007 to 2009) and first-ever director of the Canadian International Centre for the Arctic Region in Oslo (2009 to 2012), where he also served as chargé d’affaires for 9 months. After Oslo, he was posted to New York City until 2016 as the counsellor (legal, human rights, humanitarian) and legal counsel at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations. At Headquarters, he has held a series of posts in the Legal Bureau and was deputy director of the Maghreb and Persian Gulf Division (2004 to 2007). Most recently, he was executive director of the Defence and Security Relations Division.

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