Michaëlle Jean
Michaëlle Jean (b. 6 September 1957) is the Governor General of Canada.
History
Jean was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and with her family fled as refugees to Canada in 1968. She became the 27th Governor General (Queen's representative in Canada) in 2005 and is also the first black person to hold the title.
Jean fled Haiti with her family from dictator François Duvalier's regime in 1968. Her father, from whom she was estranged for many years, was a philosopher who was tortured under Duvalier's regime and separated from the family for 30 years. The Jean family settled at Thetford Mines, Quebec.
As a student at the University of Montreal, Jean received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian and Hispanic languages and literature and, from 1984 until 1986, taught Italian studies while completing a Master of Arts degree in comparative literature. Jean attended the University of Florence, the University of Perugia, and the Catholic University of Milan to continue her studies in language and literature. Besides French and English, Jean is fluent in Spanish, Italian, and Haitian Creole and can read Portuguese.
While attending university, Jean worked at a shelter for battered women from 1979 until 1987. She later helped establish a network of shelters for women and children across Canada. Jean also worked in organizations that helped immigrants to Canada and then later worked for Employment and Immigration Canada (now Human Resources and Skills Development Canada) and at the Conseil des Communautés culturelles du Québec, where Jean began writing about the experiences of immigrant women
Personal Life
She is married to filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond. He caused some controversy in his wife's selection as Governor General, as he was reported to have made statements sympathetic to the cause of Québec separatism. They have a daughter, Marie-Éden, adopted from Haiti.
