Adrienne Clarkson

The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson 伍冰枝 PC CC CMM COM CD FRSC(hon) FRAIC(hon) FRCPSC(hon)
Clarkson in 2011
26th Governor General of Canada
In office October 7, 1999 – September 27, 2005
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Jean Chrétien Paul Martin
Preceded by	Roméo LeBlanc
Succeeded by	Michaëlle Jean
Personal details
Born	Adrienne Louise Poy (1939-02-10) February 10, 1939 (age 85) Victoria, Hong Kong
Spouses	Stephen Clarkson ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1975)​ John Ralston Saul ​ (m. 1999)​
Parent	William Poy (father)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Toronto University of Paris
Profession	Journalist
Chinese name
Chinese	伍冰枝
Hanyu Pinyin	Wǔ Bīngzhī
Jyutping	Ng5 Bing1-zi1

Adrienne Louise Clarkson PC CC CMM COM CD FRSC(hon) FRAIC(hon) FRCPSC(hon) (Chinese: 伍冰枝; née Poy; born February 10, 1939) is a Hong Kong–born Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served from 1999 to 2005 as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation.

Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refugee from Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, and was raised in Ottawa. After receiving a number of university degrees, Clarkson worked as a producer and broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and a journalist for various magazines. Her first diplomatic posting came in the early 1980s, when she promoted Ontarian culture in France and other European countries. In 1999, she was appointed Governor General by Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien, to replace Roméo LeBlanc as viceroy, a post which she occupied until 2005, when she was succeeded by Michaëlle Jean. While Clarkson's appointment as the Canadian vicereine was generally welcomed at first, she caused some controversy during her time serving as the Queen's representative, mostly due to costs incurred in the operation of her office, as well as a somewhat anti-monarchist attitude toward the position.

On October 3, 2005, Clarkson was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.^[1] She subsequently published her memoirs, founded the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, and became Colonel-in-Chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.