Donald Ethell

His Honour the Honourable Colonel (Retired) Donald Stewart Ethell OC, OMM, AOE, MSC, CD, LLD(Hon)
17th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 May 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Michaëlle Jean David Lloyd Johnston
Premier	Ed Stelmach Alison Redford
Preceded by	Norman Kwong
Personal details
Born	July 23, 1937 (1937-07-23) (age 74) Vancouver, British Columbia
Spouse(s)	Linda Ethell
Profession	Soldier

Donald Stewart Ethell OC OMM AOE MSC CD LLD(Hon) (born July 23, 1937^[1]) is a retired Canadian soldier, the 17th and current Lieutenant Governor of Alberta since April 2010.

Career

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia to a nurse and a navy chief petty officer, he enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1955 after being rejected by the Navy and ejected from the Air Force.^[2]

Ethell enlisted as a rifleman in The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada at the age of 17 and underwent basic training at the Currie Barracks in Calgary. He served in Germany during the Cold War and rebadged to Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in 1970 when the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada was removed from regular army service. He rose through the non-commissioned officer ranks to warrant officer until he was commissioned as an officer in 1972.

Demonstrating an ability for leadership, Ethell eventually rose to the rank of Colonel. He eventually became a veteran of 14 international peacekeeping deployments, with service in Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Central America and the Balkans.

Following his military retirement, Colonel Ethell became involved in humanitarian efforts, including CARE Canada.

He is an officer in the Order of Canada,^[3] the Alberta Order of Excellence, and the Order of Military Merit.^[4]

Lieutenant governor

On 8 April 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his appointment as the next Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.^[5] He was installed on 11 May 2010.^[6] He was made a Knight of Justice in the Venerable Order of Saint John on September 11, 2010, and installed as vice prior of the order's Alberta Council.^[7]

As the vice-regal representative in Alberta, he is styled "His Honour" while in office and has the right to the style "The Honourable" for life. He succeeds Norman Kwong.

References

1. ^ http://www.lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca/aoe/ethell.cfm
2. ^ Bennett, Dean. "Retired colonel ecstatic to become Queen’s right hand in Alberta." The Globe and Mail, May 9, 2010.
3. ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 26 May 2010
4. ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. "Canadian Honours Search Page". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 26 May 2010
5. ^ Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (8 April 2010). "PM names retired Colonel Donald Stewart Ethell as the next Lieutenant Governor of Alberta". Queen's Printer for Canada. http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=3261. Retrieved 9 April 2010. 
6. ^ Alberta's new lieutenant-governor - troubled youth to Alberta royalty
7. ^ Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Knighted

External links

• Ethell's Alberta Order of Excellence citation

Order of precedence
Preceded by Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada	Order of precedence in Alberta as of 2011[update]	Succeeded by Alison Redford, Premier of Alberta

Persondata
Name	Ethell, Donald Stewart
Alternative names
Short description	Lieutenant Governor-designate of Alberta
Date of birth	23 July 1937
Place of birth	Vancouver, British Columbia
Date of death
Place of death