1 April 2009
Ottawa, Ontario
Kevin Stewart MacLeod is a native of Boularderie Island, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and received his university education at Boston University, (Boston, Massachusetts) and Carleton University, (Ottawa Ontario). He also attended l'université de Dijon (Dijon, France).
Mr. MacLeod gained 10 years of Parliamentary experience as an administrative assistant in the House of Commons. For 22 years, he served with the Department of Canadian Heritage, most recently as Chief of Protocol. In 1992 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II invested Mr. MacLeod as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O.) for personal service to the Sovereign. Subsequently, she promoted him to the rank of Lieutenant (L.V.O.) in 2002 and, in 2005, to Commander (C.V.O.) - the highest level of the Order available to Canadians, making him the only Canadian to have been promoted through all three ranks. During the 2005 Royal Visit to Saskatchewan and Alberta, he served as Deputy Coordinator and later as Acting Canadian Secretary to Her Majesty.
Kevin MacLeod was appointed Usher of the Black Rod, Senate of Canada, on March 27, 2008. The Usher of the Black Rod carries out a 600 year old Parliamentary tradition as the personal attendant and messenger of the Sovereign or her representative. Amongst other responsibilities, the Usher directs all protocol, logistical and administrative details regarding openings of Parliament, including the Speech from the Throne.
Mr. Kevin MacLeod is the author of the historical, bilingual novel A Stone on Their Cairn/Clach air An Càrn, focused on the lives of Scottish Highland settlers in rural Cape Breton. He also authored A Crown of Maples/La Couronne canadienne, - an overview of the Canadian Crown and constitutional monarchy in Canada, published by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
