Kim Campbell

Kim Campbell served as Canada’s nineteenth and first female Prime Minister in 1993.  She previously held cabinet portfolios as Minister of State for Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Minister of National Defence and  Minister of Veterans’ Affairs. She was the first woman to hold the Justice and Defence portfolios, and the first woman to be Defence Minister of a NATO country. Ms. Campbell participated in major international meetings including the Commonwealth, NATO, the G-7 Summit and the United Nations General Assembly.

After her tenure as Prime Minister, Campbell was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics (Spring 1994) and the Joan Shorenstein Center for the Study of Press and Politics (1994-1995) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. She served as the Canadian Consul-General in Los Angeles from 1996-2000. In 2001 Ms. Campbell became a Fellow at the new Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School and then was invited to join the faculty as a lecturer. In January, 2004 Kim Campbell was appointed as Secretary General of the Club of Madrid, an organization of former heads of government and state who work to promote democratization through peer relations with leaders of transitional democracies.  The Club of Madrid was incorporated in Madrid in May of 2002, and Ms. Campbell is a founding member and also served as its Acting President in 2002 and Vice President 2003. Ms. Campbell continues her long-standing relationship with Harvard University as an Honorary Fellow of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Kim Campbell served as Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders (CWWL) from 1999-2003.  The Council’s membership consists of women who hold or have held the office of President or Prime Minister in their own country. From Oct. 2003 – Oct. 2005, Ms. Campbell served as President of the International Women's Forum, a global organization of women of significant and diverse achievement.

Ms. Campbell is a Senior Fellow of The Gorbachev Foundation of North America, a member of the International Council of the Asia Society of New York and serves on advisory boards of numerous other international organizations such as the Global Security Institute (GSI), the Middle Powers Initiative (MPI),and the Forum of Federations.  She is also a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, (the West Coast affiliate of the Council on Foreign Relations).  She is a Trustee of the Crisis Group, a member of the Board of the International Center for Democratic Transition (ICDT) established in Budapest. Ms. Campbell ´s service as a corporate director includes experience in the high tech, bio-tech and medical devices industries.

Kim Campbell was educated at the University of British Columbia (BA, 1969, LLB, 1983) and the London School of Economics (Doctoral studies in Soviet Government, ABD, 1970-73) where she’s an Honorary Fellow.  She holds seven honorary doctorates.

Source: University Programs and Events Planning Resources, September 2006