Biographical notes

Hugh Adsett (BA, Mount Allison University, 1987; MA [Journalism], University of Western Ontario, 1988; LLB, Queen’s University, 1993) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1995. At Headquarters, he has worked in the Peacebuilding Division and in the Human Rights Law section in the Legal Affairs Bureau. He has served as deputy director of the Environmental Law section; director of the Criminal, Security and Diplomatic Law Division; and director of the United Nations, Human Rights and Economic Law Division. He has also served as director general and deputy legal adviser of the Legal Affairs Bureau; as legal adviser; and as director general of the Foreign Policy Bureau. Abroad, Mr. Adsett served in Addis Ababa as third secretary from 1998 to 2000, and at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, in New York City, as counsellor of legal, economic and social affairs from 2004 to 2008. Since 2019, he has served as ambassador and permanent representative of Canada to the Organization of American States, in Washington, D.C.

Adler Aristilde (BA [Political Science and Business Management], Concordia University, 2003; MA [Public Policy and Public Administration], Concordia University, 2005) was a journalist and radio host before joining the Canadian public service, in which he has worked for more than 18 years. He worked at Environment Canada (2005 to 2007) and at Employment and Social Development Canada (2007 to 2010) before moving to the Canadian International Development Agency in 2010. At Global Affairs Canada, Mr. Aristilde has worked on strategic policy issues, programming and institutional partnerships, as well as bilateral and multilateral relations. He served as deputy director of planning and evaluation (2014 to 2017), deputy director of business intelligence (2017 to 2018) and director of innovation and impact (2018 to 2020). More recently, abroad, Mr. Aristilde was political counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Dakar, where he was responsible for foreign policy files related to Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.

Behzad Babakhani (BSc, McGill University, 1992; LLB, University of Manitoba, 1996) practised family and criminal law before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1999. He has served at Headquarters in various positions, including as economic law officer, economic policy officer (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), director of consular affairs and director for northeast Asia and Oceania. He has also served as an executive in the Privy Council Office (Afghanistan Task Force). Abroad, he has had assignments in the Republic of Korea (second secretary), Malaysia (counsellor) and Mexico—in Mexico City (deputy head of mission and minister-counsellor) and in Monterrey (consul general). Most recently, Mr. Babakhani was consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.