Leonard H. J. Legault
1997 Read Medal Recipient
O.C., Q.C., LL.B.(Sask.), B.A.(Sask.)
Leonard H. Legault joined Department of External Affairs in 1961and served in Ottawa, Warsaw, New Delhi and Geneva (1962-73). He served as the Director General of the Legal Bureau and Legal Advisor for the Department of External Affairs (1979-80) and was Assistant Deputy Minister (1986) Mr. Legault served as Director General of the International Fisheries and Marine Directorate (1973-77). He has served as Canada’s Ambassador and High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Holy See, as Deputy Advisor at the Embassy in Washington and as Ambassador and as Canada Agent before International Court of Justice on the Gulf of Maine boundary case, Canada-US, (1982-84). Mr. Legault has represented Canada in numerous international negotiations, including as Co-ordinator for External Affairs during the Free Trade Agreement negotiations (1990-93), as the Canadian Representative to the UN Commission on Human Rights, Geneva (1994-97), as the Chairman of the Canadian Section on the International joint Commission (1997-01) and as a member in the arbitration between Newfoundland & Labrador and Nova Scotia concerning the limits of their offshore areas (2001-2002). He received the Public Service of Canada Merit Award in 1978 and became an Officer of the Order of Canada (1987).




