Johnston, David Lloyd (1941-…), is a Canadian legal scholar who served as Canada’s governor general from 2010 to 2017. He replaced Michaëlle Jean. The governor general serves as the representative of the British monarch, who is also Canada’s head of state.
Johnston was born on June 28, 1941, in Sudbury, Ontario. He attended Harvard University, where he was a star hockey player. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard in 1963. Johnston also received Bachelor of Laws degrees from Cambridge and Queen’s universities in 1965 and 1966, respectively.
Johnston has held teaching and administrative positions at a number of universities in Canada. He served as principal and vice chancellor of McGill University from 1979 to 1994. He became president and vice chancellor of the University of Waterloo in 1999. Johnston did much work in corporate law, information technology law, and securities (stocks and bonds) regulation.
In 1988, Johnston was appointed an Officer, and in 1998, a Companion, of the Order of Canada. Appointment to the order is one of Canada’s highest civilian honors. Johnston also has received honorary doctorates from numerous universities. In addition, he has written a number of books about law and other issues, including Canadian Securities Regulation (first edition, 1977).
