NEWS RELEASES

October 31, 2005 (1:00 p.m. EST)
No. 201

DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT

Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Pettigrew today announced the appointment of Bhupinder S. Liddar as Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Deputy Permanent Representative to UNEP represents Canada’s views and policies to the Committee of Permanent Representatives, its sub-committees and to the management of the organization. The Deputy Permanent Representative provides strategic and tactical policy analysis and advice on the advancement of Canadian foreign policy and environmental objectives within the UNEP on such issues as conservation of biodiversity, restoring the ozone layer, and water and sanitation for development.

As Deputy Permanent Representative for UN-Habitat, Mr. Liddar will work to bring an international perspective to the Government of Canada’s preparations for the World Urban Forum, which will be held in Vancouver next June on the 30th anniversary of the first Habitat conference in that city in 1976. The Deputy Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat also represents Canada’s views and policies to the Committee of Permanent Representatives, its sub-committees and to the management of UN-Habitat.

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A biographical note on the appointee is attached.

For further information, media representatives may contact:

James Christoff
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca

Biographical Note

Bhupinder S. Liddar (BA [International Relations], Rockford College, 1973; MA [Social Sciences], University of Illinois, 1975) was Publisher/Editor of Diplomat & International Canada magazine from 1989 to 2003. He was host of “The Diplomatic World,” a weekly panel discussion on current international issues broadcast on CPAC-TV, and “The Diplomatic World” columnist for The Hill Times. Mr. Liddar also wrote columns on diplomats for The Ottawa Citizen from 1997 to 1999, and The Ottawa Sun from 1992 to 1994. From 1986 to 1988, he was Associate Editor of International Perspectives. He worked as a parliamentary research assistant from 1977 to 1980 and from 1986 to 1988. Mr. Liddar is a member of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs and the United Nations Association of Canada, and a former member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery and the National Press Club of Canada.