Joseph Gérard Maurice Baril, (born September 22, 1943) is a retired general officer in the Canadian Forces, a military advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations from 1992 to 1997, and Chief of the Defence Staff in Canada from 1997 to 2001.
Early life
He was born in Saint-Albert, Quebec, in 1943 and studied at the University of Ottawa from 1961 to 1964, becoming an officer in the Canadian Army in 1963.
Baril was in charge of the Military Division at DPKO during the Rwandan genocide where his countryman General Roméo Dallaire was force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). He went on to be chief of Land Force Quebec Area in Montreal in July 1995 and chief of the Land Staff in September 1996.
In September 1997, Baril was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff by Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, on the advice of his prime minister, Jean Chrétien.
Baril, along with American general Henry Shelton, was a signatory to the joint Canadian-American military exercise Amalgam Virgo in June 2001. Amalgam Virgo has been cited as a dress rehearsal for the Vigilant Guardian and Global Guardian air exercises conducted during the 9/11 attacks.
Baril retired from the Canadian Forces on July 18, 2001.
Post military career
In 2002, Baril led the Canadian board of inquiry into the friendly fire Tarnak Farm incident on April 17, 2002, near Kandahar, Afghanistan.
In 2003, Baril was an envoy of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for establishing a unified national army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Maurice Baril was appointed chairman of the board of directors for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) in 2005, but resigned in January 2007.
Honours
In 2011, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions to the nation, notably for his leadership as head of the Canadian Forces, and for his ongoing contributions to peacekeeping around the world".
References
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