Mary May Simon, born in Kangirsualujuak (George River), Nunavik, has held a number of positions with the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, and served as a Board member from 1991 to 1994.

In March of 1997, Ms. Simon was appointed as a Member of the Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission on Environmental Cooperation, a side agreement to NAFTA, and was elected Chair in December of 1997.

Ms. Simon served as the President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference from 1986 to 1992, and as Special Envoy from 1992 to 1994. From 1980 to 1983, Ms. Simon served as an Executive Council Member of the Conference.

Ms. Simon was appointed Canada's first Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs on October 31, 1994, becoming the first Inuk to hold an ambassadorial position.

In 1992 Mary Simon was awarded an honourary Doctorate of Laws from McGill and, in 1994, from Queen's University. In 1995 she was named Chancellor of Trent University.

Mary Simon has been honoured for her work through appointments to the Order of Canada, the National Order of Quebec, and the Gold Order of Greenland. In April of 1996, Ms. Simon received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for her work on environmental issues and for raising awareness of, and promoting solutions to, the challenges facing the Inuit of Greenland, Alaska, Russia and Canada.

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