Clarkson, Adrienne (1939-…), served as governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005. The governor general represents the British monarch, who is Canada’s head of state. Born in Hong Kong on Feb. 10, 1939, she was the first immigrant to hold that post.
Clarkson moved with her family to Canada in 1942, during World War II. Her original name was Adrienne Poy. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Toronto. From 1962 to 1964, she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. She married Stephen Clarkson, a political economist, in 1963. They divorced in the 1970’s.
Clarkson began a broadcasting career in 1965. From then until 1982, she worked as a host, writer, and producer of several television programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). For example, she worked on the public-affairs programs “Take Thirty” and “The Fifth Estate.” From 1982 to 1987, she served as Ontario’s first agent-general in France. In that post, she promoted the province’s business and cultural interests in France. In 1988, she returned to CBC-TV. She worked on the cultural program “Adrienne Clarkson Presents” until becoming governor general in 1999.
From 1995 to 1999, Clarkson was chairperson of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec (now the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec). In 2005, Clarkson and her second husband, John Ralston Saul, founded the Institute for Canadian Citizenship to help new Canadians integrate into Canadian life. In 2023, she was inducted into the CBC News Hall of Fame.
Clarkson is also an author. Her books include A Lover More Condoling (1968) and Hunger Trace (1970), both novels; True to You in My Fashion (1971), a book of interviews; Heart Matters: A Memoir (2006); Room for All of Us (2012); and Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship (2014).
See also Canada, Government of (The governor general).
