Donald Ethell

Donald Stewart Ethell OC OMM AOE MSC CD LLD(Hon) (born July 23, 1937^[1]) is a retired Canadian soldier, the 17th and current Lieutenant Governor of Alberta since April 2010.

Career

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia to a nurse and a navy chief petty officer, he enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1955 after being rejected by the Navy and rejected from the Air Force.^[2]

Ethell enlisted as a rifleman in The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada at the age of 17 and underwent basic training at the Currie Barracks in Calgary. He served in Germany during the Cold War and rebadged to Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in 1970 when the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada was removed from regular army service. He rose through the non-commissioned officer ranks to warrant officer until he was commissioned as an officer in 1972.

Demonstrating an ability for leadership, Ethell eventually rose to the rank of Colonel. He eventually became a veteran of 14 international peacekeeping deployments, with service in Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Central America and the Balkans.

Following his military retirement, Colonel Ethell became involved in humanitarian efforts, including CARE Canada.

He is an officer in the Order of Canada,^[3] the Alberta Order of Excellence, and the Order of Military Merit.^[4]

Lieutenant governor

On 8 April 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his appointment as the next Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.^[5] He was installed on 11 May 2010.^[6] He was made a Knight of Justice in the Venerable Order of Saint John on September 11, 2010, and installed as vice prior of the order's Alberta Council.^[7]

As the vice-regal representative in Alberta, he is styled "His Honour" while in office and has the right to the style "The Honourable" for life. He succeeds Norman Kwong.

References

External links

• Ethell's Alberta Order of Excellence citation