Campbell Named Canada’s Consul General in L.A.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, 49, the first woman to lead her nation, was named Thursday as Canada’s consul general in Los Angeles, effective Sept. 16.

Campbell, who has been a lecturer at UC Irvine since February, was selected for the post by Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who dealt Campbell a crushing 1993 election defeat. The consulate in Los Angeles represents the Canadian government in trade, immigration, cultural affairs and other issues in California and four other states.

Campbell became prime minister in June 1993, when a convention of her Progressive Conservative Party selected her to succeed Brian Mulroney, who had resigned after nine years in office. But in the election that followed five months later, Chretien’s Liberal Party won a landslide victory. The Progressive Conservatives fell from 153 seats in Canada’s Parliament to just two. Campbell herself was beaten in her Vancouver, British Columbia, parliamentary district and quit as leader of the party.

Since leaving office, Campbell has had a one-year fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and has written her autobiography.

In a statement issued by Chretien’s office, Campbell said she was pleased by the appointment, citing her experience in the United States at Harvard and UC Irvine.

She will replace Dennis Browne, a career diplomat who resigned to accept a position at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.