Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named former British Columbia premier John Horgan as Canada’s next ambassador to Germany.
The Wednesday announcement comes seven months after Horgan resigned his seat in the B.C. legislature as the MLA Langford-Juan de Fuca on southern Vancouver Island. Horgan, a New Democrat with a 30-year political career, served as premier for a little over five years.
“He is a passionate public servant and an experienced leader, and I am confident that he will continue to serve Canada well and help advance our two countries’ common interests in this new role, including our shared commitment to building a clean future with good middle-class jobs and a strong economy that benefits everyone,” Trudeau said in a news release.
Canada’s embassy in Germany is located in Berlin, with consulates in Munich and Düsseldorf as well as an Honorary Consul in Stuttgart.
As ambassador, Horgan will work to strengthen ties between the two countries — both NATO partners, and members of the G7, G20, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and World Trade Organization.
Canada and Germany created a high-level steering group for bilateral co-operation in 2021, to improve collaboration on peace and security, climate action, energy and natural resources, innovation, and more. That group last met in June and will meet again in 2024.
Horgan sped up his retirement plans from politics in February, after revealing in June of 2022 that he would step down as premier before the next provincial election. Horgan has twice battled cancer, and underwent what he described as “rigorous” treatment for throat cancer last year.
His final day in the legislature was March 31.
The veteran politician spent eight years as New Democratic Party leader, five terms as MLA and a dozen years as a political staff employee.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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